LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIFT  OK 


Class 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN 

After    the    Miniature    by    J.     S.     DITI.ESSIS 

Painted    about   the    vear    1782 
Belonging  to  DR.   and   MRS.   EDWARD   P.    DAVIS  > 


THE  RECORD  OF  THE  CELEBRATION  OF 
THE  TWO  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 
OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN, 
UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF  THE  AMERI 
CAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  HELD  AT 
PHILADELPHIA  FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL 
KNOWLEDGE,  APRIL  THE  SEVENTEENTH 
TO  APRIL  THE  TWENTIETH,  A.  D.  NINE 
TEEN  HUNDRED  AND  SIX 


VOL.    I 


PRINTED  FOR 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

PHILADELPHIA 

1906 


Copyright,  1906,  by 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

HELD  AT  PHILADELPHIA 
FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE 


PDESS  or 

i  EDA  Plume  Ci 

LAHCASIfR.  Pfc 


PREFACE 


At  the  General  Meeting  of  the  American  Philosoph 
ical  Society,  held  on  April  2-4,  1903,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution,  offered  by  Dr.  I.  Minis  Hays, 
were  unanimously  adopted: 

Inasmuch  as  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
birth  of  Benjamin  Franklin  occurs  in  January,  1906,  it 
is  proper  that  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
which  owes  its  existence  to  his  initiative  and  to  which 
he  gave  many  years  of  faithful  service,  should  take 
steps  to  commemorate  the  occasion  in  a  manner  befitting 
his  eminent  services  to  this  Society,  to  science  and  to 
the  Nation.  Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  President  is  authorized  and 
directed  to  appoint  a  committee,  of  such  number  as  he 
shall  deem  proper,  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  appropriate 
celebration  of  the  bi-centennial  of  the  birth  of  Franklin, 
and  to  report  the  same  to  this  Society. 

The  President  thereupon  appointed  the  following 
members  to  constitute  the  Committee: 

Hon.  George  F.  Edmunds,  Chairman, 
Prof.  Alexander  Agassiz,  Boston, 
Pres't  James  B.  Angell,  Ann  Arbor, 
Prof.  George  F.  Barker,  Philadelphia, 
Prof.  A.  Graham  Bell,  Washington, 


vi  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie,  New  York, 
Prof.  C.  F.  Chandler,  New  York, 
Hon.  Grover  Cleveland,  Princeton, 
Pres't  Charles  W.  Eliot,  Cambridge, 
Pres't  Daniel   C.  Gilman,  Baltimore, 
Pres't  Arthur  T.  Hadley,  New  Haven, 
Provost  C.  C.  Harrison,  Philadelphia, 
Hon.  John  Hay,  Washington, 
Dr.  I.  Minis  Hays,  Philadelphia, 
Prof.  Samuel  P.  Langley,  Washington, 
Capt.  Alfred  T.  Mahan,  U.  S.  N., 
Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  Philadelphia, 
Prof.  Simon  Newcomb,  Washington, 
Governor  S.  W.  Pennypacker,  Harrisburg, 
Prof.  E.  C.  Pickering,  Cambridge, 
Prof.  Michael  I.  Pupin,  New  York, 
Pres't  Ira  Remsen,  Baltimore, 
Prof.  John  Trowbridge,   Cambridge, 
Dr.  Charles  D.  Wolcott,  Washington, 
Hon.  Andrew  D.  White,  Ithaca, 
Pres't  Woodrow   Wilson,    Princeton. 

The  Committee  met  for  organization  at  the  call  of 
its  Chairman,  Hon.  George  F.  Edmunds,  on  May  23, 
1903,  and  after  general  discussion  appointed  a  subcom 
mittee  consisting  of  Dr.  Edgar  F.  Smith,  Chairman, 
Messrs.  Angell,  Barker,  Gilman,  Harrison,  Hays  and 
Pickering  to  prepare  a  plan  for  carrying  out  the  reso- 


PREFACE  vii 

lution  of  the  Society  and  to  report  the  same  to  the 
full  Committee. 

At  a  meeting  held  April  6,  1904,  the  subcommittee 
presented  the  outline  of  a  plan  of  celebration  which  was 
adopted. 

A  Committee  was  appointed  to  urge  upon  Congress 
that  it  should  order  a  medal  to  be  struck  to  commem- 
morate  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of 
Franklin,  of  which  there  should  be  a  single  impression 
in  gold  to  be  presented  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  the  Republic  of  France,  other  impressions 
in  bronze  to  be  distributed  under  the  direction  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  and  certain  number  to  be 
placed  at  the  disposition  of  The  American  Philosophical 
Society  for  purposes  of  presentation. 

A  Committee  was  also  appointed  to  request  the  Legis 
lature  of  Pennsylvania  to  make  an  appropriation  to  aid 
in  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  celebration,  and  at  the 
solicitation  of  this  Committee  the  following  Act  was 
passed. 

An  Act:  Making  an  appropriation  to  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  held  at  Philadelphia,  for  pro 
moting  useful  knowledge,  for  the  celebration  of  the 
two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Benjamin 
Franklin. 
WHEREAS,  The  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 

birth  of  Benjamin  Franklin  will  occur  on  the  seventeenth 


viii  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

day  of  January,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand  nine  hun 
dred  and  six: 

And  WHEREAS,  By  his  services  to  the  city  of  Philadel 
phia  in  suggesting  and  promoting  the  first  public  library 
established  in  this  country,  the  school  which  subse 
quently  developed  into  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  the  formation  of  the  first  Masonic  lodge  estab 
lished  in  America,  and  other  institutions  of  charity  and 
learning; 

By  his  services  to  Pennsylvania  in  the  defense  of  its 
frontier  against  the  French  and  Indians,  in  resisting 
the  unjust  claims  of  the  proprietors,  as  a  member  of 
the  Assembly  and  its  Speaker,  as  the  agent  of  the  Colony 
in  England,  as  president  of  the  convention  which  framed 
the  first  Constitution  for  the  State,  and  as  president  of 
the  State  for  three  consecutive  terms; 

By  his  services  to  all  the  colonies  in  defending  their 
rights  and  advancing  their  interests  abroad,  and  as  a 
member  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  promoting  their 
development  and  formation  into  an  independent  nation; 

By  his  services  to  the  United  States  as  a  Commis 
sioner,  and  subsequently  as  their  sole  Plenipotentiary  at 
the  Court  of  France,  during  the  revolution,  under  cir 
cumstances  most  difficult  and  discouraging,  which  were 
of  decisive  benefit  and  effect  in  establishing  the  Inde 
pendence  of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  delegate  from 
Pennsylvania  to  the  convention  which  framed  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States;  and, 

By  his  contributions  to  knowledge,  through  his  dis 
coveries  in  electrical  and  other  sciences,  he  earned  the 
grateful  remembrance  of  the  people  of  this  State,  and 
it  is  proper  that  the  approaching  bicentenary  of  his 
birth  should  be  appropriately  celebrated,  therefore: 


PREFACE  ix 

Section  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  sum  of  thirty- 
five  thousand  dollars,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be 
necessary,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  specifically  ap 
propriated  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  held 
at  Philadelphia,  for  promoting  useful  knowledge,  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  proposed  celebration  of  the 
two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Benjamin 
Franklin. 

APPROVED — The  eleventh  day  of  May,  Anno  Domini 
one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  five,  in  the  sum  of 
$20,000.  I  withhold  my  approval  from  the  remainder 
of  said  appropriation,  for  the  reason  that  the  condition 
of  the  State  revenue  does  not  justify  a  larger  expendi 
ture  at  this  time.  SAML  w  PENNYPACKER. 

An  invitation  to  be  represented  at  the  celebration  was 
extended  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
following  joint  resolution  was  adopted  by  that  Hon 
orable  Body: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled, 
That  the  invitation  extended  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  by  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  to  attend  the  celebra 
tion  of  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of 
Benjamin  Franklin,  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  Penn 
sylvania,  commencing  April  seventeenth,  nineteen  hun 
dred  and  six,  be,  and  is  hereby,  accepted. 

That  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  be,  and  they  are  hereby, 
authorized  and  directed  to  appoint  a  committee  to  con 
sist  of  six  Senators  and  ten  Representatives  of  the  Fifty- 


x  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

ninth  Congress  to  attend  the  celebration  referred  to  and 
to  represent  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  on  that 
occasion. 

An  invitation  was  likewise  extended  to  the  Legislature 
of  Pennsylvania  to  be  represented  at  the  celebration,  and, 
as  the  Legislature  was  not  at  the  time  in  session,  the 
invitation  was  forwarded  to  the  Hon.  Cyrus  E.  Woods, 
President  pro-tern,  of  the  Senate,  and  to  the  Hon.  Henry 
F.  Walton,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  following  subcommittees  of  the  General  Com 
mittee  were  appointed  to  carry  out  the  details  of  the 
Celebration: 

INVITATIONS. — Charles  C.  Harrison,  Chairman,  S. 
Weir  Mitchell,  Albert  H.  Smyth,  Henry  C.  Chapman, 
Hampton  L.  Carson. 

ACADEMY  OF  MUSIC. — Horace  Jayne,  Chairman, 
Frank  Miles  Day,  Emlen  Hutchinson,  James  Mac- 
Alister,  Leslie  W.  Miller. 

WlTHERSPOON  HALL. — Henry  G.  Bryant,  Chairman, 
E.  V.  d'Invilliers,  James  W.  Holland. 

HOTELS. — John  Marshall,  Chairman,  R.  C.  H.  Brock, 
Samuel  G.  Dixon,  Joseph  C.  Fraley,  R.  A.  F.  Penrose, 

Jr. 

RECEPTION. — W.  W.  Keen,  Chairman,  R.  A.  Clee- 
mann,  Francis  B.  Gummere,  Robert  G.  LeConte,  An 
drew  A.  Blair. 


PREFACE  xi 

LUNCHEON. — J.  Rodman  Paul,  Chairman,  Harry  F. 
Keller,  Ernest  W.  Brown. 

DINNER. — Stuart  Wood,  Chairman,  George  Tucker 
Bispham,  Charles  E.  Dana,  John  Cadwalader,  Charles 
H.  Cramp. 

TRANSPORTATION. — George  F.  Baer,  Chairman,  A.  J. 
Cassatt,  Samuel  Dickson,  C.  Stuart  Patterson,  Theodore 
N.  Ely. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. — Edgar  F.  Smith,  Chairman, 
I.  Minis  Hays,  Secretary,  Charles  C.  Harrison,  George 

F.  Barker,  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  Samuel  Dickson,  Joseph 

G.  Rosengarten  and  the  Chairmen  of  the  subcommittees. 
The   Chairman    and    Secretary   were   made   ex-officiis 

members  of  all  the  subcommittees. 

The  Executive  Committee  requested  Dr.  I.  Minis 
Havs  to  edit  this  record  of  the  Bicentennial  Celebration, 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

THE  PROGRAMME i 

LIST  OF  DELEGATES 13 

COMMEMORATIVE  ADDRESSES 

Franklin  as  Citizen  and  Philanthropist. 

BY  HORACE  HOWARD  FURNESS    ....    31 

Franklin  as  Printer  and  Philosopher. 

BY  CHARLES  WILLIAM  ELIOT,  LL.D.    .    .    55 

Franklin  as  Statesman  and  Diplomatist. 

BY    JOSEPH    HODGES    CHOATE,    LL.D., 
D.C.L 71 

Presentation  to  France  of  the  Gold  Medal  Au 
thorized  by  The  Congress  of  the  United 
States. 

BY  THE  HONORABLE  ELIHU  ROOT,  Secre 
tary  of  State 97 

Reception  of  the  Medal. 

BY  His  EXCELLENCY,  M.  J.  J.  JUSSERAND, 
The   French    Ambassador 99 


xiv  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

Franklin's   Researches  in  Electricity. 

BY  PROFESSOR  EDWARD  L.  NICHOLS    .    .103 

The  Modern  Theories  of  Electricity  and  Their 
Relation  to  the  Franklinian  Theory. 

j 

BY     PROFESSOR     ERNEST     RUTHERFORD, 
F.R.S .  123 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Conferring  of  Honorary  Degrees 159 

Address    by   THE    HONORABLE    HAMPTON    L. 
CARSON 167 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS. 

Conferring  of  the  Honorary  Degree  of  LL.D. 
BY    ANDREW    CARNEGIE,    LL.D.,    Lord 

Rector 189 

ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  AND  INSTITU 
TIONS  OF  LEARNING 195 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


MINIATURE  OF  FRANKLIN Frontispiece. 

Painted  by  Joseph-Siffrein  Duplessis,  at  Passy, 
about  the  year  1782. 

PORTRAIT  OF  FRANKLIN    ....    Facing  Page  31. 
Painted  by  Benjamin  Wilson  in  London  in  1759. 

The  history  of  this  portrait  is  explained  in  the  fol 
lowing  correspondence  which  was  read  by  Hon. 
Joseph  H.  Choate,  on  April  20,  at  the  American 
Academy  of  Music,  when  the  portrait  was  first  shown 
after  its  return  to  this  country. 

GOVERNMENT  HOUSE, 

Ottawa,  February  7,  1906. 

My  Dear  Mr.  President: — The  fortune  of  war 
and  the  accident  of  inheritance  have  made  me  the 
owner  of  the  portrait  of  Franklin,  which  Major 
Andre  took  out  of  his  house  in  Philadelphia  and  gave 
to  his  Commanding  Officer,  my  great-grandfather, 
General  Sir  Charles  Grey.  This  portrait,  which 
Franklin  stated  was  "  allowed  by  those  who  have 
seen  it  to  have  great  merit  as  a  picture  in  every  re 
spect,"  has  for  over  a  century  occupied  the  chief 
place  of  honor  on  the  walls  of  my  Northumbrian 

(XV) 


xvi  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

home.  Mr.  Choate  has  suggested  to  me  that  the 
approaching  Franklin  Bicentennial  Celebration  at 
Philadelphia  on  April  20,  provides  a  fitting  oppor 
tunity  for  restoring  to  the  American  people  a  picture 
which  they  will  be  glad  to  recover.  I  gladly  fall 
in  with  his  suggestion. 

In  a  letter  from  Franklin,  written  from  Philadel 
phia,  October  23,  1788,  to  Madame  Lavoisier,  he  says: 
"  Our  English  enemies,  when  they  were  in  possession 
of  this  city  and  my  home,  made  a  prisoner  of  my 
portrait  and  carried  it  off  with  them." 

As  your  English  friend,  I  desire  to  give  my  pris 
oner,  after  the  lapse  of  130  years,  his  liberty,  and 
shall  be  obliged  if  you  will  name  the  officer  into 
whose  custody  you  wish  me  to  deliver  him.  If  agree 
able  to  you,  I  should  be  much  pleased  if  he  should 
find  a  final  resting-place  in  The  White  House,  but  I 
leave  this  to  your  judgment. 

I  remain  with  great  respect  and  in  all  friendship, 

Yours  truly, 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE, 

Washington,   February    12,    1906. 

My  Dear  Lord  Grey:  —  I  shall  send  up  an  officer 
to  receive  that  portrait,  and  I  cannot  sufficiently 
thank  you  for  your  thoughtful  and  generous  gift. 
The  announcement  shall  be  made  by  Mr.  Choate  at 
the  time  and  place  you  suggest.  I  shall  then  formally 
thank  you  for  your  great  and  thoughtful  courtesy. 
Meanwhile,  let  me  say  privately  how  much  I  appre 
ciate,  not  only  what  you  have  done,  but  the  spirit 
in  which  you  have  done  it,  and  the  way  in  which 
the  manner  of  doing  it  adds  to  the  generosity  of 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xvii 

the  gift  itself.     I  shall  have  placed  on  the  portrait, 
which  shall,  of  course,  be  kept  at  The  White  House 
as   you   desire,    the   circumstances   of   its    taking   and 
return.     With   heartiest   regard, 
Sincerely  yours, 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

PORTRAIT  OF  FRANKLIN Facing  Page  71. 

Painted,  about  the  year  1766  in  London,  by  David 
Martin.  The  original  was  copied  in  1785  by  Charles 
Willson  Peale  for  the  American  Philosophical  So 
ciety,  and  the  photogravure  is  from  this  copy. 

The  history  of  this  portrait  is  explained  in  the 
following  memorandum  attached  to  the  back  of  the 
original  portrait  painted  by  Martin  for  Mr.  Alex 
ander  and  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Henry 
Williams  Biddle,  of  Philadelphia. 

The  portraite  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  LL.D.,  was 
painted  by  Martin,  in  London,  when  the  Doctor  was 
about  sixty  years  of  age.  It  was  ordered  and  paid 
for  by  Robert  Alexander,  then  of  the  House  of 
William  Alexander  and  Sons,  of  Edenburgh,  and 
was  designed  to  perpetuate  the  circumstance  of  his 
advice,  given  in  consequence  of  the  perusal  of  cer 
tain  important  papers.  .  .  .  After  the  death  of  Robert 
it  decended  to  his  Brother,  William  Alexander. 
Jonathan  Williams,  a  grandson  of  Dr.  Franklin's 
sister,  having  married  the  daughter  of  William  Alex 
ander,  the  portraite  has  been  given  to  them,  to  decend 


xviii  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

to  the  eldest  male  heir  perpetually  as  the  joint  repre 
sentative  of  both  Parties.  .  .  . 

This   disposition   is   hereby  confirmed. 

January  i,  1806. 

JON*  WILLIAMS. 

MARIAMNE  WILLIAMS. 

Note.— Doctor  Franklin  was  so  well  satisfied  with 
Mr.  Martin's  performance  &  the  likeness  was  deemed 
so  perfect,  that  he  was  induced  to  have  a  copy  made 
by  the  same  Artist  at  his  own  expense,  &  it  was  sent 
to  his  Family  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  after  his 
death,  left  by  his  will,  to  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  of  Pennsylvania,  of  which  he  had  been  the 
chief,  &  was  accordingly  suspended  in  their  cham 
ber.  By  the  new  Constitution,  the  Council  of  State 
was  abolished  &  and  this  poor  portraite,  became  an 
abandoned  orphan,  without  having  any  place  in 
which  it  had  a  right  to  hang  itself. 

The  celebrated  Peale,  a  declaired  enemy  of  every 
thing  unnatural— took  pity  on  the  wretched  outcast 
and  has  humanely  hung  it  up  among  his  natural 
curiosities  in  the  Philadelphia  Museum. 

The  foregoing  memorandum  is  copied  from  the 
original,  in  the  Handwriting  of  my  Father,  Jonathan 
Williams,  and  the  signatures  are  those  of  himself  and 
my  Mother.  ...  By  virtue  of  the  direction  contained 
in  it,  the  above  mentioned  portraite  passed  to  me,  and 
has  continued  in  my  possession  since  his  death.  .  .  . 

I  hereby  in  accordance  with  the  disposition  made 
by  them  bequeath  it  to  my  eldest  male  heir. 

November  i,  1828.  HENRY  J.  WILLIAMS. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xix 

THE  FRANKLIN  MEDAL Facing  Page  97. 

Designed  by  Louis  and  Augustus  St.  Gaudens. 

This  Medal  was  struck  in  accordance  with  the  fol 
lowing  Act  of  Congress,  approved  April  27,  1904. 

"  To  enable  the  Secretary  of  State  to  have  struck 
a  medal  to  commemorate  the  two  hundredth  anni 
versary  of  the  birth  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  for  dis 
tribution  in  connection  with  the  occurrence  of  the 
bicentennial  anniversary  of  his  birth,  on  the  seven 
teenth  day  of  January,  nineteen  hundred  and  six, 
one  single  impression  on  gold  to  be  presented,  under 
the  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
to  the  Republic  of  France,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
impressions  on  bronze,  of  which  one  hundred  shall 
be  distributed  as  may  be  directed  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  fifty  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  held  at  Philadel 
phia,  for  promoting  useful  knowledge,  founded  by 
Franklin,  five  thousand  dollars." 


THE    PROGRAMME 


TUESDAY  EVENING,  APRIL 

AT  WITHERSPOON  HALL 


The  delegates,  invited  guests  and  members  of  the  Society  met  in 
Westminster  Hall  at  7.45  P.  JVI.  and  proceeded  in  a  body  to 
Witherspoon  Hall 

OPENING  SESSION  —  8  O'CLOCK 
Address  by  the  President 

Reception    of    Delegates    from    Learned    Societies    and 
Institutions  of  Learning 

Presentation  of  Addresses 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS 

Conferring  of  the  Honorary  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws, 
by  the  Lord  Rector,  MR.  ANDREW  CARNEGIE. 
Upon  Agnes  Irwin,  Dean  of  Radcliffe  College. 

An  Informal  Reception  was  held  in  the  Assembly  Room,  after  adjourn 
ment. 

(3) 


THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


WEDNESDAY,  APRIL 

IN  THE  HALL  OF  THE  SOCIETY 

on  Independence  Square 
MEETING  FOR  THE  READING  OF  PAPERS  ON  SUBJECTS  OF  SCIENCE 

MORNING  SESSION  10  A.  M. 

The  Statistical  Method  in  Chemical  Geology 

By  FRANK  WIGGLESWORTH   CLARKE,    Sc.D.,   of  Washington 

On  a  possible  Reversal  of  the  Deep  Sea  Circulation  and 
its  Effect  on  Geological  Climates 

By  PROF.  THOMAS  C.  CHAMBERLIN,  of  Chicago 

Elementary  Species  in  Agriculture 

By  PROF.  HUGO  DEVRIES,  of  Amsterdam,  Holland 

An  International  Southern  Observatory 

By  PROF.  EDWARD  C.  PICKERING,  of  Cambridge,  Mass. 

The  Figure  and  Stability  of  a  Liquid  Satellite 

By  SIR  GEORGE  DARWIN,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.,  of  Cambridge, 
England 

Form  Analysis 

By  PROF.  ALBERT  A.  MICHELSON,  of  Chicago 

EXECUTIVE  SESSION  —  12.30  O'CLOCK 
For  the  transaction  of  the  private  business  of  the  Society 

STATED   BUSINESS  —  Candidates   for  membership 
balloted  for 


PROGRAMME  FOR  WEDNESDAY  5 

AFTERNOON  SESSION — 2  O'CLOCK 

The  Present  Position  of  the  Problem  concerning  the 
First  Principles  of  Scientific  Theory 

By  PROF.  JOSIAH  ROYCE,  of  Cambridge,  Mass. 

The  Human  Harvest 

By  PRESIDENT  DAVID  STARR  JORDAN,  of  Stanford  University, 
Cal. 

On  Positive  and  Negative  Electrons 

By  PROF.  H.  A.  LORENTZ,  of  Amsterdam 

The  Elimination  of  Velocity-Head  in  the  Measurements 
of  Pressures  in  a  Fluid  Stream 

By  PROF.  FRANCIS  E.  NIPHER,  of  St.  Louis. 

Old  Weather  Records  and  Franklin  as  a  Meteorologist 
By  PROF.  CLEVELAND  ABBE,  of  Washington. 

Was  Lewis  Evans  or  Benjamin  Franklin  the  first  to  rec 
ognize  that  our  North-east  Storms  come  from  the 
South-west? 

By  PROF.  WILLIAM  MORRIS  DAVIS,  of  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Notes  on  the  Production  of  Optical  Planes  of  large 
Dimensions 

By  DR.  JOHN  A.  BRASHEAR,  of  Allegheny,  Pa. 

A  new  Mountain  Observatory 

By  PROF.  GEORGE  E.  HALE,  Pasadena,  Cal. 


6  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

EVENING  SESSION — 8  O'CLOCK 

AT  WITHERSPOON  HALL 

ADDRESSES 

Franklin's  Researches  in  Electricity 

By  PROF.  EDWARD  L.  NICHOLS,  Ph.D.,  of  Ithaca 

The  Modern  Theories  of  Electricity  and  their  Relation 
to  the  Franklinian  Theory 

By  PROF.  ERNEST  RUTHERFORD,  F.R.S.,  of  Montreal 

THURSDAY,  APRIL  19™ 

AT  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY  OF  Music 
ii  A.  M. 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 
Conferring  of  Honorary  Degrees 

Oration 

By  the  HON.  HAMPTON  L.  CARSON,  Attorney  General  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania 

AT  CHRIST  CHURCH  BURYING  GROUND 

Fifth  and  Arch  Streets 

4  P.  M. 

Ceremonies  at  the  Grave  of  Franklin 

The  delegates  and  members  assembled  in  the  Hall  of  the  Society  at 
4  o'clock  and  proceeded  to  the  Grave  of  Franklin  in  the  Christ  Church 
Burying  Ground  at  Fifth  and  Arch  Streets. 

The  American  Philosophical  Society  had  requested  permission  of  the 
Christ  Church  authorities  for  the  designated  representatives  of  the 


PROGRAMME  FOR  THURSDAY  7 

institutions  with  which  Franklin  was  connected  either  as  a  founder  or 
a  member,  and  for  them  only,  to  enter  the  grave  yard  and  place 
wreaths  upon  the  grave  of  Franklin.  This  permission  was  graciously 
granted  by  the  Vestry  "  in  strict  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the 
letter  "  of  request — the  limitation  being  necessary  to  prevent  injury  to 
the  ancient  graves,  which  completely  fill  the  yard. 

In  honor  of  the  occasion,  the  following  organizations  paraded : 

The  First  Troop  of  Philadelphia  City  Cavalry; 

A  battalion  of  United  States  Marines; 

A  battalion  of  United  States  Sailors; 

The  First  Regiment  of  Infantry  of  the  National  Guard  of 

Pennsylvania ; 

The  Veteran  Corps  of  the  same  regiment ; 
A  provisional  battalion  of  800  United  States  Letter  Carriers; 
The  Veteran  Firemen's  Association  ; 
A  deputation  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 

Masons  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  parade  was  under  the  charge  of  Col.  Benjamin  C.  Tilghman  as 
Grand  Marshal ;  and  Major  George  E.  Kemp,  Major  Charles  T. 
Cresswell,  and  First  Lieutenant  Henry  Norris  as  Aides. 

The  parade  formed  on  the  west  side  of  Broad  Street,  facing  east,  the 
right  of  the  line  being  opposite  the  Masonic  Temple,  and  moved  at  4 
P.  M.  over  the  following  route: 

South  on  Broad  to  Market,  passing  to  the  east  of  the  City  Hall,  east 
on  Market  to  Twelfth,  south  on  Twelfth  to  Chestnut,  east  on  Chestnut 
to  Fifth,  north  on  Fifth  to  Arch,  east  on  Arch  to  Fourth  Street. 

When  the  head  of  the  column  arrived  at  Fourth  and  Arch  Streets, 
the  column  halted  and  was  formed  to  the  right. 

Wreaths  were  then  placed  on  the  grave  of  Franklin  on  behalf  of 

THE  NATION, 

By  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
through  his  specially  appointed  representative, 

COMMANDER  R.  McN.  WINSLOW,  U.  S.  N.; 


8  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

THE  STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 

By  the  GOVERNOR  OF  THE  STATE, 
through  his  specially  appointed  representative, 

MR.  BROMLEY  WHARTON,  Private  Secretary; 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

By  its  PRESIDENT,  DR.  EDGAR  F.  SMITH  ; 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 

By  PROVOST  CHARLES  C.  HARRISON  ; 

THE  LIBRARY  COMPANY  OF  PHILADELPHIA, 

By  its  PRESIDING  DIRECTOR,  MR.  EDWIN  S.  BUCKLEY; 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA  HOSPITAL, 

By  its  PRESIDENT,  MR.  BENJAMIN  H.  SHOEMAKER; 

THE    PHILADELPHIA   CONTRIBUTIONSHIP    FOR   THE    INSURANCE   OF 
HOUSES  FROM  LOSS  FROM  FlRE, 

By  MR.  J.  RODMAN  PAUL,  ACTING  PRESIDENT; 

THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  FREE  AND  ACCEPTED   MASONS  OF   PENN 
SYLVANIA, 

By  the  RIGHT  WORSHIPFUL  GRAND  MASTER, 
GEORGE  W.  KENDRICK,  JR.  ; 

THE   SELECT   AND   COMMON   COUNCILS   OF    THE   CITY   OF    PHILA 
DELPHIA, 

By  MR.  WILLIAM  HARKNESS,  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  COMMIT 
TEE  OF  COUNCILS; 

THE  KONIGLICHE  GESELLSCHAFT  DER  WISSENSCHAFTEN  zu  GOT- 

TINGEN, 

By  its  DELEGATE,  DR.  EMIL  WIECHERT; 

THE  KONIGLICHE  PREUSSISCHE  AKADEMIE  DER  WISSENSCHAFTEN, 

and 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  BERLIN, 

By  their  DELEGATE,  DR.  ALOIS  BRANDL; 


PROGRAMME  FOR  THURSDAY  9 

THE  MANCHESTER  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY, 
By  its  DELEGATE,  J.  U.  BROWER. 

A  wreath  \vas  also  deposited  in  the  name  of 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA  SOCIETY  OF  THE   DAUGHTERS  OF  THE   REVO 
LUTION. 

As  the  wreaths  were  placed  upon  the  grave,  a  National  Salute  was 
fired  by  the  U.  S.  Battleship  Pennsylvania,  anchored  at  the  foot  of  Arch 
Street,  and  the  troops  in  line  presented  arms,  and  the  unarmed  bodies  in 
line  uncovered. 

Brief  addresses  were  then  made  under  the  direction  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  F.  &  A.  M.  of  Pennsylvania,  as  follows: 

INVOCATION, 

By  FRANK  B.  LYNCH,  D.D.  ; 

FRANKLIN  IN  MASONRY, 

By  GEORGE  W.  KENDRICK,  JR.  ; 

FRANKLIN  AS  A  FREE  MASON, 
By  JAMES  W.  BROWN  ; 

FRANKLIN  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST, 
By  JOHN  L.  KINSEY; 

FRANKLIN  AS  A  SCIENTIST, 
By  PETER  BOYD; 

BENEDICTION, 

By  ROBERT  HUNTER,  D.D. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies,  the  parade  again  formed  in  col 
umn  and  the  march  was  resumed  south  on  Fourth  Street  to  Walnut,  and 
thence  west  on  Walnut  to  Broad  Street,  where  the  parade  was  dismissed. 


Reception 


AT  THE  BELLEVUE-STRATFORD 
9  P.  M. 


io  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

FRIDAY,  APRIL  ZOTH 

AT  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY  OF  Music 
ii  A.  M. 

The  Delegates,  Invited  Guests  and  Members  of  the  American  Philo 
sophical  Society  met  in  the  Foyer  of  the  Academy  at  10.45  A.  M.  and 
proceeded  in  a  body  to  the  Auditorium. 

ADDRESSES  IN  COMMEMORATION  OF 

BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN. 

As  Citizen  and  Philanthropist 

By  HORACE  HOWARD  FURNESS,  Litt.D.  (Cantab.) 

As  Printer  and  Philosopher 

By  PRESIDENT  CHARLES  WILLIAM  ELIOT,  LL.D. 

As  Statesman  and  Diplomatist 

By  the  HON.  JOSEPH  HODGES  CHOATE,  LL.D.,  D.C.L. 

PRESENTATION  OF  THE  FRANKLIN  MEDAL  TO 
THE  REPUBLIC  OF  FRANCE 

(In  accordance  with  the  Act  of  Congress) 
By  the  HONORABLE  ELIHU  ROOT,  Secretary  of  State 
(by  direction  of  The  President) 

RECEPTION  OF  THE  MEDAL 

By  His  EXCELLENCY,  M.  J.  J.  JUSSERAND, 
The  French  Ambassador 


PROGRAMME  FOR  FRIDAY  n 

IN  THE  HALL  OF  THE  SOCIETY 

on  Independence  Square 

MEETING  FOR  THE  READING  OF  PAPERS  ON  SUBJECTS  OF  SCIENCE 

3  P.  M. 

Repetition  and  Variation  in  Poetic  Structure 

By  PROF.  FRANCIS  BARTON  GUMMERE,  of  Haverford,  Pa. 

The  Herodotean  Prototype  of  Esther  and  Sheherazade 
By  PROF.  PAUL  HAUPT,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

Heredity  and  Variation,  Logical  and  Biological 
By  PROF.  WM.  KEITH  BROOKS,  of  Baltimore 

Notes  on  a  Collection  of  Fossil  Mammals  from  Natal 
By  PROF.  WILLIAM  B.  SCOTT,  of  Princeton 

The  use  of   Dilute   Solutions  of   Sulphuric  Acid   as   a 
Fungicide 

By  PROF.  HENRY  KRAEMER,  of  Philadelphia 

Franklin  and  the  Germans 

By  PROF.  M.  D.  LEARNED,  of  Philadelphia 

The  use  of  High-Explosive  Projectiles 

By  PROF.  CHARLES  E.  MUNROE,  of  Washington. 

Ammoniacal  Gas  Liquors 

By  PROF.  CHARLES  E.  MUNROE,  of  Washington. 

The  Chromosomes  in  the  Spermatogenesis  of  the 
Hemiptera  Heteroptera 

By  PROF.  THOMAS  H.  MONTGOMERY,  JR.,  of  Austin,  Texas 


12  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

AT  THE  BELLEVUE-STRATFORD 
Broad  and  Walnut  Streets 

7  P.  M. 
Dinner 


NOTE 

The  papers  on  subjects  of  science,  read  on  Wednesday, 
April  1 8,  and  Friday,  April  20,  appear  in  THE  PRO 
CEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 
Volume  XLV.  1906. 


LIST   OF  DELEGATES 


The  Congress  of  the  United  States 
Hon.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge 
Hon.  John  Kean 
Hon.   Elmer  J.  Burkett 
Hon.  George  Sutherland 
Hon.  Murphy  J.  Foster 
Hon.  Asbury  Churchwell  Latimer 
on  behalf  of  the  Senate 

Hon.  Marlin  Edgar  Olmsted 

Hon.  Frederick  Clement  Stevens 

Hon.  Robert  G.  Cousins 

Hon.  James  E.  Watson 

Hon.  J.  Sloat  Fassett 

Hon.  Rockwood  Hoar 

Hon.  Thomas  Alexander  Smith 

Hon.  Edward  William  Pou 

Hon.  William  Henry  Ryan 

Hon.  John  Thomas  Watkins 

on  behalf  of  the  House  of  Representatives 

The  State  of  Pennsylvania 
Hon.  John  M.  Scott 
Hon.  William  C.  Sproul 
Hon.  A.  E.  Sisson 

(  13) 


14  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

Hon.  Algernon  B.  Roberts 
Hon.  Arthur  G.  Dewalt 
Hon.  David  A.  Wilbert 

The  President  of  France 

^1-  J-  J-  Jusserand 

II  Ministero  di  Agricoltura,  Industria  e 

Commercio    (Rome) 
Count  Naselli 

The  University  of  Oxford — XII  Century 

Mr.  Roger  Bigelow  Merriman 

The  University  of  Cambridge — XII  Century 
Sir  George  Howard  Darwin,  K.C.B. 

Regia  Universita  di  Pavia — 1361 

The  President  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society 

The  University  of  St.  Andrews — 1411 

The  Lord  Rector,  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie 
Professor  Alfred  Mercier 

The  University  of  Glasgow — 1450 

Professor  Thomas  Gray 
Professor  William  R.  Lang 
Rev.  Duncan  B.  Macdonald 

The  University  of  Edinburgh — 1583 

Rev.  William  Paterson  Paterson 
Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  15 

Reale  Accademia  di  Scienze,  Lettere  ed  Arti  in  Padova 
-1599 

Professor  Simon  Newcomb 

Reale  Accademia  dei  Lincei,  Rome — 1603 

Professor  Simon  Newcomb 

L'Academie  des  Sciences  de  Paris — 1629 
Professor  Simon  Ne\vcomb 

Harvard  University — 1636 

President  Charles  W.  Eliot 
Dr.  Horace  Howard  Furness 

The  Royal  Society  (London) — 1645 
Sir  George  Howard  Darwin,  K.C.B. 
Professor  Ernest  W.  Brown 
Professor  Ernest  Rutherford 
Professor  J.  W.  Mallet 

L'Academie  Nationale  des  Sciences,  Arts  et  Belles 
Lettres  de  Caen — 1652 

Professor  Rev.  Florian  J.  C.  Vurpillot 

College  of  William  and  Mary   (Williamsburg,  Va.)- 
1693 

President  Lyon  Gardiner  Tyler 

Konigliche  Preussische  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften 
(Berlin)  — 1700 

Dr.  Alois  Brandl 


1 6  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

Yale  University — 1701 

President  Arthur  T.  Hadley 
Professor  Charles  S.  Hastings 

The  University  of  Pennsylvania — 1740 
Provost  Charles  C.  Harrison 

Princeton  University — 1746 
Professor  William  F.  Magie 
Professor  William  B.  Scott 

Konigliche  Gesellschaft  der  Wissenschaften 

zu  Gottingen — 1751 
Dr.  Emil  Wiechert 

The  Society  of  Arts  (London)  — 1754 

Right  Honorable  Sir  H.  Mortimer-Durand 
Sir  William  Henry  Preece,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 

Columbia  University  (New  York)  — 1754 

Professor  William  Milligan  Sloan 
Mr.  John  B.  Pine 

Real  Academia  de  Ciencias  y  Artes  de  Barcelona — -1763 

Hon.  George  C.  Perkins 
Mr.  George  W.  Dickie 
Mr.  Marsden  Manson 

Bataafsch  Genootschap  der  Proefondervindelijke 

Wijsbegeerte   (Rotterdam) — 1769 
Dr.  H.  A.  Lorentz 

L'Academie  de  Medecine  de  Paris — 1776 
Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  17 

The  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences 
(Boston)  — 1780 

President  W.  W.  Goodwin 
Professor  William  Morris  Davis 

Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  (Eng.) 

-1781 
Dr.  F.  W.  Clarke 

Societa  Italiana  delle  Scienze  (Rome) — 1782 

Professor  Simon  Newcomb 

Reale  Accademia  delle  Scienze  di  Torino — 1783 

Professor  Simon  Newcomb 

The  University  of  the  State  of  New  York  (Albany)  — 

1784 

Hon.  T.  Guilford  Smith 

The  College  of  Physicians  of  Philadelphia — 1787 
Dr.  J.  William  White 

Franklin  and  Marshall  College  (Lancaster,  Pa.)  — 1787 

President  John  S.  Stahr 

The  Linnean  Society  (London) — 1788 

Professor  William  Gilson  Farlow 

The  Massachusetts  Historical  Society — 1791 

Vice  President  Samuel  A.  Green 

The  University  of  Vermont — 1791 
President  Matthew  H.  Buckham 


1 8  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

Bowdoin  College  (Brunswick,  Me.)  — 1794 
Professor  Henry  L.  Chapman 

The  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain — 1800 

Sir  George  Howard  Darwin,  K.C.B. 

The  Library  of  Congress  (Washington) — 1800 

Mr.  Herbert  Putnam 

The  Royal  Philosophical  Society  of  Glasgow — 1802 

Professor  Peter  Bennett 

The  New  York  Historical  Society — 1804 

Vice-President  F.  Robert  Schell 

The  American  Antiquarian  Society  (Worcester,  Mass.) 

-1812 
Dr.  Andrew  McFarland  Davis 

The  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia— 

1812 

President  Samuel  G.  Dixon 

The  New  York  Academy  of  Sciences — 1817 

Professor  N.  L.  Britton 
Professor  J.  McKeen  Cattell 
Professor  J.  J.  Stevenson 

The  University  of  Cincinnati — 1819 
President  Charles  W.  Dabney 

The  Royal  Astronomical  Society  (London)  — 1820 
Professor  Ernest  W.  Brown 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  19 

The  Royal  Scottish  Society  of  Arts  (Edinburgh) — 1821 
Professor  William  Morris  Davis 

Amherst  College  (Mass.)  — 1821 

President  George  Harris 

The  British  Association  for  the  Advancement 

of  Science — 1822 
Sir  George  Howard  Darwin,  K.C.B. 

The  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society — 1822 
President  Wilfred  H.  Munro 

The  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society — 1823 

Hon.  Samuel  C.  Eastman 

The  Franklin  Institute   (Philadelphia) — 1824 
President  John  Birkinbine 

The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania — 1824 

Chief  Justice  James  T.  Mitchell 

The  Connecticut  Historical  Society — 1825 
President  Samuel  Hart 

The  Zoological  Society  of  London — 1826 

Mr.  Arthur  Erwin  Brown 

The  University  of  Toronto — 1827 
President  James  Loudon 

The  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London — 1830 

Professor  William  Morris  Davis 


20  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

The  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History  —  1830 
Professor  Angelo  Heilprin 

Haverford  College  (Pennsylvania)  —  1833 
President  Isaac  Sharpless 

The  Royal  Asiatic  Society  of  Great  Britain  —  1834 

Professor  Charles  Rockwell  Lanman 

The  University  of  Michigan  —  1837 

President  James  B.  Angell 
Professor  Charles  L.  Doolittle 

Reale  Istituto  Veneto  di  Scienze,  Lettere  ed  Arti—  1838 

Professor  Edwin  G.  Conklin 

The  Vermont  Historical  Society  —  1838 
President  G.  G.  Benedict 

The  University  of  Missouri  —  1839 

Acting  President  J.  C.  Jones 

The  American  Oriental  Society  (New  Haven)  —  1842 
Dr.  Daniel  C.  Gilman 

The  Maryland  Historical  Society  —  1844 

Hon.  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  (Washington)  —  1846 
Hon.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge 

The  Institution  of  Mechanical  Engineers    (London)  — 


Mr.  Robert  W.  Hunt 
Mr.  Coleman  Sellers 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  21 

The  Essex  Institute  (Salem,  Mass.) — 1848 

Hon.  Robert  S.  Rantoul 

The  University  of  Wisconsin — 1849 

Dr.  Richard  T.  Ely 

The  Royal  Meteorological  Society  (London)  — 1850 
Sir  George  Howard  Darwin,  K.C.B. 

The  American  Geographical  Society  (New  York)  — 
1852 

Mr.  Levi  Holbrook 
Mr.  Edwin  Swift  Balch 
Professor  William  Libbey 

The  North  of  England  Institute  of  Mining  and 

Mechanical  Engineers — 1852 
Mr.  F.  C.  Keighley 

The  California  Academy  of  Sciences — 1853 

Hon.  George  C.  Perkins 
Mr.  George  W.  Dickie 
Mr.  Marsden  Manson 

Koninklijke  Akademie  van  Wetenschappen 

(Amsterdam) — 1855 
Dr.  H.  A.  Lorentz 

Kaiserliche  Konigliche  Geographische  Gesellschaft 

(Vienna) — 1856 
Dr.  Eugen  Oberhummer 


22  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

The  Institution  of  Engineers  and  Shipbuilders 

( Glasgow)  — 1857 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Davis 
Mr.  John  H.  Macalpine 
Mr.  James  V.  Patterson 
Mr.  Andrew  Fletcher 

The  Academy  of  Science  of  St.  Louis — 1857 

Professor  Francis  Eugene  Nipher 

The  Peabody  Institute   (Baltimore)  — 1857 

Dr.  Daniel  C.  Oilman 
Mr.  Faris  C.  Pitt 

The  Geological  Society  of  Glasgow — 1858 

Professor  Peter  Bennett 

The  Numismatic  and  Antiquarian  Society  of 
Philadelphia— 1858 

Mr.  Cornelius  Stevenson 

La  Societe  d'Anthropologie  de  Paris — 18159 

Professor  George  Grant  MacCurdy 

The  Buffalo  Society  of  Natural  Sciences — 1861 

President  T.  Guilford  Smith 

The  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology — 1861 

President  Henry  S.  Pritchett 

The  Portland  Society  of  Natural  History  (Maine) 
1862 

Dr.  William  Converse  Kendall 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  23 

The  National  Academy  of  Sciences 

(Washington,  D.  C.)  — 1863 

Professor  Edward  L.  Nichols 

Cornell  University  (Ithaca,  N.  Y.)  — 1865 
President  J.  G.  Schurman 

The  New  Zealand  Institute  (Wellington) — 1867 
Professor  Ernest  Rutherford 

The  Davenport  Academy  of  Sciences   (Iowa) — 1867 
Mr.  H.  S.  Putnam 

The  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
(New  York)— 1869 

Dr.  Hermon  C.  Bumpus 

The  Peabody  Museum  (Salem,  Mass.)  — 1869 

Mr.  L.  W.  Jenkins 

Istituto  Botanico  di  Pavia — 1870 
Professor  William  Gilson  Farlow 

Deutscher  Seefischerei   (Verein) — 1870 
Dr.  Herman  Boeker 

The  Cincinnati  Society  of  Natural  History — 1870 

Mr.  William  Hubbell  Fisher 

The  Torrey  Botanical  Club  (New  York) — 1870 

Professor  L.  M.  Underwood 
Dr.  T.  D.  MacDougal 


24  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

The  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts, 

and  Letters — 1870 
Hon.  John  W.  Hoyt 

The  Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers    (London)- 

1871 

Sir  William  Henry  Preece,  K.C.B. 
Mr.  Elihu  Thomson 

The  Anthropological  Institute  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland   (London) — 1871 

Professor  F.  W.  Putnam 

The  Philosophical  Society  of  Washington — 1871 

Professor  Cleveland  Abbe 

The  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan — 1872 
Mr.  J.  C.  Hepburn 
Rev.  G.  W.  Knox 
Rev.  W.  E.  Griffis 
Mr.  Benjamin  Smith  Lyman 

The  Physical  Society  of  London — 1874 
Professor  A.  A.  Michelson 
Professor  R.  W.  Wood 

La  Societe  Geologique  de  Belgique  (Liege) — 1874 
Dr.  Persifor  Frazer 

The  Lancaster  Co.  (Pennsylvania)  Historical 
Society — 1874 

Dr.  Joseph  Henry  Dubbs 

Mr.  Samuel  M.  Sener 

Dr.  Frank  Reid  Diffenderffer 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  25 

La  Societe  Royale  de  Geographic  d'Anvers — 1876 

M.  Henri  Thys 

The  Conchological  Society  of  Great  Britain  and 

Ireland   (Manchester)  — 1876 
Dr.  William  H.  Ball 

The  Johns  Hopkins  University   (Baltimore,  Md.)  — 
1876 

Professor  Paul  Haupt 

The  Archaeological  Institute  of  America 
(Cambridge,  Mass.) — 1879 

President  Thomas  Day  Seymour 

The  Biological  Society  of  Washington    (D.   C.)  — 1880 

Dr.  Theodore  Gill 

The  Colorado  Scientific  Society  (Denver) — 1882 
Mr.  E.  N.  Hawkins 

The  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  Australasia 

(Victorian  Branch)  — 1883 
Hon.  Col.  J.  M.  Morgan 

La  Societe  Internationale  des  Electriciens  de  Paris — 

1883 

Mr.  Carl  Hering 

La  Societe  des  Sciences  Physiques  et  Naturelles  de 
Bordeaux — 1883 

Dr.  Samuel  G.  Dixon 


26  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

Sociedad  Cientifica  "Antonio  Alzate  "    ( Mexico) - 

1884 

Mr.  Edwin  Swift  Balch 
Dr.  Persifor  Frazer 
Prof.  Angelo  Heilprin 

The  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  Manchester — 1885 

Jacob  Vradenburg  Brower 

The  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  Australasia, 
Queensland  Branch — 1885 

Dr.  J.  P.  Thomson 

La  Societe  Beige  de  Geologic,  de  Paleontalogie  et 

d'Hydrologie   (Brussels)  — 1887 
Professor  J.  J.  Stevenson 

The  American  Mathematical  Society  (New  York)- 
1888 

Professor  Edward  V.  Huntingdon 

The  Geological  Society  of  America — 1888 

Dr.  Persifor  Frazer 

L'Ecole  d'Anthropologie  de  Paris — 1889 

Professor  George  Grant  MacCurdy 

The  Missouri  Botanical  Garden  (St.  Louis) — 1889 

Director  William  Trelease 

The  West  of  Scotland  Iron  and  Steel  Institute 
(Glasgow) — 1892 

Professor  Henry  M.  Howe 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  27 

The  Colonial  Society  of  Massachusetts   (Boston)  — 1892 

Mr.  Henry  Herbert  Edes 

The  Engineer's  Club  of  Philadelphia — 1892 
Air.  Arthur  Falkenau 

The  Geographical  Society  of  Philadelphia — -1893 
President  Henry  G.  Bryant 

The  Carnegie  Museum   (Pittsburg,  Pa.) — 1896 
Director  W.  J.  Holland 

The  Washington  Academy  of  Sciences   (D.  C.)  — 1898 

Professor  Cleveland  Abbe 
Professor  Frank  W.  Clarke 

The  Pennsylvania  Society  (New  York) — 1899 

Secretary  Barr  Feree 

The  Carnegie  Institution  (Washington,  D.  C.)  — 1902 
President  Robert  S.  Woodward 

Sociedad  Aragonesa  de  Ciencias  Naturales 
Mr.  Philip  Calvert 


REPORT    OF 
THE     PROCEEDINGS 


29) 


PHOTOO-RAVi/RE 

BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN 

FROM    THE    PORTRAIT   BY  B  Wl  LSCN,  PAI NTE  D     IN    ]?59 

PRESENTED   TO   THE    NATIO  N,  APRI  L.  I9C6.  BY  TH  E  RIGHT  HCN   THE    fARL   GRFY.GCMG 
AND    NOW  IN     ME  WHITE  HOUSE.  WASHINGTON 


FRANKLIN 
AS   CITIZEN   AND   PHILANTHROPIST 

BY  HORACE  HOWARD  FURNESS 

[Address  delivered  in  The  Academy  of  Music,  Friday,  April  20.] 

IN  compliance  with  the  request  of  my  fellow  associ 
ates  of  The  American  Philosophical  Society,  I  am 
to  speak  to  you  on  the  "  Character  of  Franklin  as  a 
Citizen  and  a  Philanthropist."  And  if  I  dwell  chiefly 
on  his  Citizenship,  it  is  because  it  is  the  larger  term, 
and  includes  Philanthropy. 

The  words  that  I  utter  cannot  be  many, — who  can  com 
press,  within  the  limits  of  patience,  an  account  of  the 
trials,  and  the  triumphs  of  eighty  years? — and  they 
must  be  trite  and  mere  iterations, — for  has  not  Franklin's 
every  deed  and  word  been  set  before  you,  within  the  last 
few  months,  in  mouths  of  far  wiser  censure  than  mine? 

Let  us,  then,  here  and  now,  approach  this  great  mem 
ory  with  the  reverence  of  children  and  stammer  our 
gratitude  by  rehearsing  some  elements  of  the  inextin 
guishable  indebtedness  due  from  every  one  of  us  to  that 
great  benefactor,  to  whom,  at  this  very  hour,  we  owe 
comforts,  without  which  life,  civic  or  social,  would  be 
barely  tolerable. 

(3D 


32  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

If,  at  the  time  when  Macaulay's  '  New  Zealander,' 
standing  on  a  broken  arch  of  London  Bridge,  is  cleaning 
his  palette  after  a  successful  sketch  of  the  ruins  of  St. 
Paul's,  a  Philadelphia  '  Directory'  of  the  present  year 
should  be  submitted,  as  the  sole  survival  of  this  city,  to 
the  eminent  archaeologists  of  that  distant  day,  they  will 
find,  to  their  bewilderment,  that  about  thirty  trades  or 
manufactures  from  biscuit-making  to  bottling,  from 
banks  to  buttons,  from  skirt-making  to  sugar-refining, 
one  and  all  are  preceded  by  a  name  or  symbol  almost  as 
mysterious  as  that  on  any  cuneiform  tablet  now  unearthed 
at  Nippur.  Whereupon,  a  theory  is  evolved  that  all 
tradesmen  had  a  fetich  or  totem,  called  "  Franklin."  Of 
course,  the  Higher  Criticism  of  that  day  will  maintain 
that  it  was  merely  the  name  of  a  deified  king.  Let  us 
project  our  gratitude  to  the  Higher  Criticism  on  that 
dim  and  nebulous  horizon  for  coming  so  near  the  truth, 
nearer  possibly  than  it  comes  now-a-days,  and  for  dis 
cerning  the  divinity  that  hedges  this  Franklin,  this  king 
of  men.  Ay,  every  inch  a  king!  (An  extremely  high 
compliment  to  kings,  let  us  remark  in  passing.) 

In  sooth,  for  his  own  fame,  Franklin  was  born  too  late. 
Had  he  lived  in  ages  nearer  the  beginning,  when  the 
childhood  of  our  race  was  fashioning  the  images  of  its 
gods  out  of  mud  and  clay  in  the  uncouth  likeness  of  its 
heroes  and  benefactors,  no  station  less  august  than  the 
Father  of  the  World  would  have  then  sufficed  for  him; 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  33 

and  their  clay-baked  "  Jupiter  Omnipotens  "  or,  possibly, 
more  appropriately  "Jupiter  Tonans  "  would  have  borne 
the  lineaments  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  spectacles  and  all. 
But  for  us,  he  was  not  born  too  late.  No  more  aus 
picious  star  twinkles  for  us  in  the  firmament  than  that 
which  shone  on  the  birth  of  Franklin.  Under  it,  he  was 
endowed  with  an  inappeasible  hunger  for  knowledge; 
with  a  temperament  so  equable  that  the  sight  of  injustice 
could  alone  disturb  its  poise;  with  a  wisdom  so  com 
prehensive  that  no  experience  of  life,  however  humble, 
failed  to  enlarge  it;  with  a  sagacity  so  sure  that  it  par 
took  of  a  prophet's  fire;  with  an  honesty  so  ingrained 
that  in  his  "  Autobiography  "  he  would  endure  disgrace 
rather  than  seem  to  be  what  he  was  not;  with  a  sense 
of  humour  so  keen  that  it  kept  him  from  yielding  to  the 
obtrusive  vagaries  of  overwrought  enthusiasm.  And,  to 
crown  all,  this  happy  mingle  was  born  into  the  world 
just  in  time  to  reach  its  full  maturity  when  this  young 
nation  was  struggling  perilously  into  manhood,  and  on 
the  stroke  of  the  hour  when  there  was  needed  precisely 
the  very  help  which  a  man  like  Franklin,  and  Franklin 
alone,  could  supply.  It  is  such  times, — "  times,"  as  Tom 
Paine  then  said,  "  which  try  men's  souls," — that  cry 
aloud  for  all  the  finest  elements  of  citizenship.  Then 
it  is  that  the  Commonwealth  demands  of  her  sons,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  the  very  all  and  the  very  best, 
they  can  give,  and  at  the  sacrifice  of  every  other  tie. 

4 


34  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

Accordingly,  at  her  summons,  Franklin  obediently 
broke  away  from  wife  and  children,  from  friends  who 
were  dear,  from  fellow-citizens  by  whom  he  was  re 
vered,  from  the  ease  of  affluence,  to  reside  in  London, 
where,  for  ten  years,  as  the  agent  of  refractory  rebels, 
he  was  treated  by  the  Government  and  the  Tories,  with 
neglect,  contumely,  and  scorn.  But,  as  was  said  by 
"  Junius"  of  Wilkes,  "  the  rays  of  royal  indignation,  con 
centrated  upon  him,  served  only  to  illumine,  they  could 
not  consume  him." 

So  much  did  it  cost,  in  the  Tory  England,  of  that  time, 
to  be  a  faithful  citizen  of  an  American  colony.  But  in 
the  American  colony  itself  the  atmosphere  was  far 
different. 

Franklin  had  reached  Philadelphia,  a  truant  from 
his  apprenticeship  in  Boston,  when  he  was  seventeen 
years  old.  Of  all  the  thirty  thousand  inhabitants  about 
him,  he  knew  personally  not  a  single  soul,  and  all  the 
money  he  had  in  the  world  was  a  shilling  in  copper  and 
a  solitary  "Dutch  dollar."  This  dollar  is  so  demoninated 
by  Franklin  himself  in  his  "  Autobiography,"  and  when 
ever  it  has  since  been  mentioned,  it  is  always  termed 
"  Dutch,"  but  whether  it  was  more  or  less  than  an  ordi- 
narjr  dollar,  I  do  not  know,  yet  certain  it  is  that  it  gives 
out  a  contemptuous  ring,  which  magnifies  Franklin's 
poverty  and  is  soothing  to  our  feelings.  And  yet,  within 
fourteen  short  years,  so  deep  was  the  impression  made  by 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  35 

his  character  on  his  fellow-citizens,  that  this  friendless, 
penniless  boy  had  been  chosen  Clerk  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly,  made  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  appointed 
Postmaster. 

A  career  so  remarkable,  rising  so  rapidly  from 
absolute  pennilessness  to  competence,  from  friendless- 
ness  to  political  prominence,  may  well  give  us  pause. 
Those  early  years  must  assuredly  bear  in  them  the 
promise,  whereof  the  following  fifty  bore  the  fruit. 
What  manner  of  man,  then,  must  Franklin  have  been 
when  he  was  young?  His  portraits  have  made  the 
venerable  appearance  of  his  old  age  so  familiar  that 
we  never  think  of  him  as  a  jocund  youth.  No  contem 
porary  testimony  will  help  us.  We  have  only  his  own 
"Autobiography "  wherein  with  invincible  honesty  he 
presents  the  worse  side  of  his  own  character.  We  must 
read  between  the  lines  of  this  "Autobiography,"  if  we 
are  to  answer  this  question,  and  thence  draw  our  conclu 
sions.  If  we  search  we  shall  there  find  the  following  pic 
ture:  It  is  evening,  in  New  Jersey,  on  the  road  to 
Philadelphia,  and  a  youth  of  seventeen  applies  for 
lodging  at  a  roadside  inn;  he  is  footsore  after  a  solitary 
tramp  of  thirty  miles,  his  clothes  are  shabby,  dirty,  and 
show  the  effects  of  a  thorough  drenching  in  the  rain  of 
the  day  before,  with  the  pockets  stuffed  out  with  shirt 
and  stockings.  He  looks  suspiciously  like  a  fugitive 


36  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

from  justice,  but  the  inn-keeper  was,  strangely  enough 
for  those  days,  a  man  of  some  education,  a  doctor,  who 
had  been,  probably,  an  itinerant  physician,  and  had 
travelled  somewhat;  he  took  the  uninviting  tramp  in,  and 
while  the  latter  was  eating  supper  entered  into  conversa 
tion  with  him.  They  must  have  had  an  entertaining,  a 
delightful  talk;  evidently  the  rough  diamond  sparkled 
and  shone,  and  so  dazzled  the  eyes,  and  so  won  the  heart 
of  the  good  doctor  that  when  they  parted  the  next  morn 
ing  the  unknown  bedraggled  boy  carried  with  him  the 
friendship  of  his  host  which  survived  through  life. 
Here  is  another  incident  of  Franklin's  youth,  which 
happened  only  a  few  months  after  he  was  settled  here 
in  this  city.  The  Governor  of  the  Province,  Sir  William 
Keith,  had  been  shown  a  letter  of  the  young  Franklin, 
written,  we  may  well  suppose,  in  his  direct  and  for 
cible  style;  he  thereupon  conceived  a  high  opinion  of 
the  writer.  One  day,  therefore,  Sir  William,  "  finely 
dressed,"  as  we  are  told,  called  at  the  printing  office 
where  the  youth  was  at  work,  talked  with  him  awhile 
and,  evidently  captivated  by  the  unusual  cleverness  of 
his  conversation,  insisted  upon  carrying  him  off  to  the 
tavern,  just  as  he  was,  in  his  workingman's  clothes,  "  to 
taste,  as  he  said,  some  excellent  Madeira."  This  in 
terview  led  to  others,  and  several  times  in  the  next  few 
weeks  the  Governor  invited  the  young  printer  to  dine 
with  him,  "  conversing  with  me,"  says  Franklin,  "  in 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  37 

the  most  affable,  familiar,  and  friendly  manner  imagi 
nable." 

"  My  heart  doth  joy,"  said  Brutus  just  before  he 
fell  upon  his  sword  after  his  defeat  at  Philippi,  "  My 
heart  doth  joy  that  yet  in  all  my  life  I  found  no 
man  but  he  was  true  to  me."  Therein  Brutus  pays, 
unconsciously,  the  highest  tribute  to  his  own  truth.  It 
was  his  honour  that  evoked  honour  wheresoever  he 
dealt.  When  we  find,  therefore,  in  Franklin's  "Auto 
biography  "  or  in  his  "  Letters,"  commendations  of  his 
friends  as  being  affable  or  agreeable,  witty  or  charming, 
we  may  know  that  those  qualities  were  but  reflections 
of  himself.  How  could  it  be  otherwise?  He  must 
have  been  the  best  company  in  the  world, — never  dull; 
always  alert;  that  active  brain  was  never  idle  for  the 
thousandth  part  of  a  minute;  never  gloomy,  always 
cheerful;  with  flashes  of  wit,  and  a  fund  of  anecdotes 
to  illustrate  the  homely  problems  of  life.  Thus  he 
must  have  been  as  a  companion.  As  a  Councillor,  a 
Justice,  or  a  Legislator  the  smile  vanishes  and  is  re 
placed,  for  a  while,  by  the  furrows  of  thought.  His 
popularity  could  have  been  no  secret  to  those  who  met 
him  day  by  day. 

From  the  age  of  thirty,  and  for  fifty  years  onward, 
until  the  very  close  of  his  long  life,  he  was  continuously 
fulfilling  the  duties  of  public  office,  fairly  forced  upon 
him  by  his  fellow-citizens,  or  by  the  rulers  of  the 


38  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

Province.  In  every  emergency,  it  was  to  Franklin  that 
his  fellow-citizens  appealed  for  counsel,  in  absolute 
trust  that  in  his  discerning  sagacity,  in  the  fertility  of 
his  resources,  in  his  promptitude  and  unwearied  self- 
sacrifice,  they  would  find  all  needed  aid.  And  never 
did  they  appeal  in  vain.  Did  Philadelphia  happen  to 
be  in  danger  from  privateers  of  France  and  Spain  at 
war  with  Great  Britain,  it  was  Franklin,  the  private 
citizen,  who  lulled  all  fears  by  organizing  bands 
for  defence  and  by  raising  money  to  build  and  equip  a 
battery.  Were  the  Indians  threatening  the  frontiers, 
it  was  Franklin,  the  citizen,  who  was  deputed  to 
confer  with  the  British  general  on  the  means  of  de 
fence,  and  in  so  doing,  in  order  to  purchase  sup 
plies  for  the  soldiers,  he  advanced  his  own  hardly 
earned  money  to  the  extent  of  a  thousand  pounds,— 
equivalent  at  the  present  day  to  at  least  five  times  as 
much, — which  should  the  English  Government  fail  to 
repay,  meant  his  financial  ruin. 

Thus  it  was,  that,  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
towering  above  all,  in  his  sterling  combination  of  the 
qualities  of  a  good  citizen,  he  verily  anticipated  his  own 
electrical  discoveries,  and,  like  a  lightning-rod,  dissi 
pated  every  ominous  cloud  that  threatened  the  serenity 
of  the  Commonwealth.  Under  his  benign  protection 
there  dwelt  safety  and  secure  repose. 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  39 

What  wonder  then,  that  when  the  Province  en 
deavoured  to  raise  money  for  a  defence  against  the 
threatening  Indians,  and  encountered  the  "  indescrib 
able  meanness "  of  the  proprietaries,  William  Penn's 
own  sons,  in  utterly  refusing  to  allow  their  vast  tracts 
of  land  to  be  taxed  for  this  or  for  any  purpose, 
—what  wonder  that  the  distressed  colonists  should 
turn  to  Franklin,  the  citizen  who,  of  all  others,  had 
been  their  wisest  counsellor  in  the  past,  and  send  him 
to  England  to  petition  the  King  for  relief.  Of  course, 
he  was  as  successful  as  was  possible  in  the  circumstances 
and  gained  great  but  temporary  relief  by  a  compro 
mise, — that  "  heretic  that  works  on  leases  of  short  num 
bered  hours." 

It  is  not  my  province  to  speak,  you  will  shortly  hear 
it  from  a  more  golden  mouth,  of  his  diplomacy  on  these 
missions,  of  his  brilliant  success  in  an  examination  be 
fore  Parliament,  when,  for  hours,  on  no  throne  did 
there  ever  beat  a  fiercer  light  than  on  one  unassum 
ing,  dignified  citizen,  who,  with  imperturbable  calm 
ness,  answered  every  question  triumphantly,  and  with  the 
tongue,  dowered  on  that  occasion,  with  the  Elfin  Queen's 
gift  to  Thomas  of  Ercildoun,  "  the  tongue  that  could  not 
lie,"  set  forth  with  unflinching  frankness  the  manifold 
grievances  of  the  colonies.  But  it  does  fall,  I  think, 
within  my  limits  to  urge  that  this  triumph  was  due  to 
Franklin's  absolute  mastery  of  every  quality  which  goes 


40  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

to  the  making  of  a  citizen.  No  detail  of  civic  life  was 
there,  with  which  he  was  not  familiar.  Hence  what 
ever  else  the  guise  under  which  he  stands  proudly  forth 
on  this  occasion,  every  word  that  he  uttered,  every  fibre 
of  his  mind,  heralds  him  as  the  great  citizen. 

Nor  was  this  citizen's  voice,  while  reverberating  in 
England,  ever  silent  here  at  home.  Again,  it  is,  prob 
ably,  not  within  my  province  to  speak  about  "  Poor 
Richard's  Almanacs"  or  "Father  Abraham's  Speech" 
or  the  issues  from  Franklin's  press.  They  will  be 
duly  set  forth  by  a  voice  whose  music  you  will  soon 
hear.  But  I  am  not  encroaching,  when  I  call  atten 
tion  to  the  pure  philanthropy  which  lies  in  scattering 
broadcast  over  the  land  maxims  inculcating  honesty, 
sobriety,  frugality,  and  industry,  the  four  cardinal  points 
of  civic  life,  couched  in  proverbs,  whereof  the  wit  and 
pungency  drive  the  meaning  home.  We  could  laugh 
together,  sans  intermission,  by  the  half  hour,  over  the 
shrewdness,  the  knowledge  of  human  nature,  the  keenness 
of  those  winged  words,  and  barbed  shafts,  all  of  them 
feathered  with  wit  and  humour;  they  are  popular  today, 
and  will  be  tomorrow  and  tomorrow,  to  the  last  syllable 
of  recorded  time,  or  as  long  as  "  laughter  holding  both 
its  sides  "  is  friend  to  man.  You  know,  it  is  reported  that 
Thomas  Jefferson  said  that  the  reason  why  Franklin 
was  not  deputed  to  write  "  The  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  "  was  because  he  would  be  sure  to  put  a  joke 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  41 

in  it.  But  is  it  too  much  to  claim  that  those  maxims 
thus  sinking  deep  into  the  minds  of  men,  as  possibly 
no  others  sink  save  those  of  Holy  Writ,  swayed  and 
moulded  the  temper  and  character  of  this  nation  in  its 
early  impressible  years?  If,  therefore,  Franklin  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  type,  it  is  because  he  himself  created 
the  species. 

As  time  went  on,  the  weak  bantling  among  nations, 
these  United  States,  needed  a  representative  in  Eu 
rope,  who  could  secure  for  them  recognition  as  a 
nation,  an  alliance  if  possible,  and,  at  all  hazards, 
money.  The  task  seemed  well  nigh  hopeless.  Never 
theless,  Congress  unanimously  appointed  Franklin, 
with  two  others,  a  commissioner  to  France.  Faith 
ful  to  his  self-sacrificing  duty  as  a  citizen,  Franklin 
accepted  the  appointment,  although  he  was  then  seventy 
years  old, — many,  many  years  beyond  the  limit,  at  which, 
as  we  have  been  recently  assured,  we  cease  to  be  of  any 
use  either  to  the  community,  to  ourselves,  or  to  anybody. 
But  before  he  left  Philadelphia,  he  performed  one 
act  which  places  him  high,  very  high,  in  the  list  of 
great  citizens  and  of  eminent  patriots.  The  life  of 
the  nation  was  very  feeble  and  very  flickering.  En 
thusiasm  is  truly  admirable,  but  it  will  not  pay  salaries 
nor  arm  soldiers.  A  new-born  government  without 
either  money  or  credit  is  as  helpless  as  a  new-born 
child.  Franklin's  single-eyed  devotion  to  his  country 


42  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

taught  him  exactly  what  to  do.  He  gathered  all  the 
money  he  could  command,  amounting  to  three  or  four 
thousand  pounds,  certainly  of  five  times  the  purchasing 
value  that  it  is  at  present,  and  lent  it  all  to  the  govern 
ment.  This  tangible  proof,  by  so  cautious  and  thrifty 
a  man,  of  confidence  in  the  stability  of  the  government, 
afforded  untold  encouragement  to  his  fellow-citizens 
to  follow  his  example. 

Language  would  be  deemed  extravagant  that  should 
describe  the  admiration,  the  adulation,  and  the  respect 
wherewith  Franklin  was  welcomed  in  France. 

Ah,  that  name,  France,  can  it  be  ever  spoken  by  an 
American,  mindful  of  our  early  struggles,  without  bring 
ing  "  the  crimson  to  the  forehead  and  the  lustre  to  the 
eye,"  as  the  kindled  flush  of  gratitude  starts  from  our 
heart  of  heart!  I  care  not  for  motives.  Gratitude  recks 
not  of  them.  The  fact  remains  that  under  God,  we  owe 
to  France  the  success  of  our  Revolution!  When  above, 
below,  and  on  every  hand,  there  was  naught  but  gloom 
and  black  despair,  that  dear,  dear  land  rose  to  us,  on  the 
horizon,  like  a  constellation  on  the  brow  of  night. 

It  has  been  happily  said  that  the  thought  of  future 
applause  is  like  the  majestic  sound  of  the  distant  ocean; 
present  applause  is  like  that  same  ocean  dashed  in 
the  face,  and  requiring  a  rock  to  stand  it.  But  nigh 
a  decade  of  such  applause  as  has  never  been  lavished 
on  living  man  had  no  effect  on  Franklin's  granitic, 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  43 

republican  character.  The  rock  withstood  the  ocean! 
Now  although  it  may  not  prove  a  title  to  the  claim 
of  consummate  citizenship  that  a  man  has  his  por 
trait  in  bracelets  and  on  snuff-boxes,  and  his  bust  in 
every  house,  and  his  likeness  in  every  shop-window, 
yet  it  does  reveal  how  thoroughly  ingrained  are  all 
the  best  elements  of  democratic  citizenship  when  all 
such  blandishments  fail  to  have  the  faintest  influence 
on  character  or  deportment. 

"  The  glories  of  our  birth  and  state 
Are  shadows,  not  substantial  things," 

and  Dr.  Franklin  returned  to  his  home  here  the  same 
unbending  republican  citizen  that  he  was  when  he  left 
these  shores,  and  among  the  charges  brought  against 
him  by  envy  and  party-spirit  (we  have  the  highest 
authority  that  "  woe  be  unto  us  when  all  men  speak 
well  of  us"),  I  cannot  recall  any  which  denied  his  re 
publican  simplicity  in  garb  or  demeanor,  or  one  that 
accused  him  of  aping  foreign  aristocratic  manners.  In 
deed,  his  sense  of  humour  kept  him  from  all  ostenta 
tion;  the  incongruity, — one  of  the  elements  of  humour,— 
between  the  simplicity  of  a  republic  and  the  gewgaws 
of  a  monarchy  was  too  palpable.  Moreover,  "  silks  and 
satins,  scarlet  and  velvet  put  out  the  kitchen  fire,  as 
Poor  Richard  says,"  and  "  Pride  that  dines  on  vanity, 
sups  on  contempt,  as  Poor  Richard  says."  Verily,  his 


44  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

undisguised  exultation  in  being  one  of  the  people  is 
revealed  in  his  final  solemn  utterance  to  the  public;  he 
begins  his  Last  Will  and  Testament  with  "  I,  Benjamin 
Franklin,  Printer." 

He  was  seventy-nine  years  old  when  he  returned 
from  France,  and  a  few  weeks  after  his  arrival  was 
elected  President,  we  should  now  say,  Governor,  of  the 
State,  and  was  re-elected  unanimously  in  the  two  fol 
lowing  years.  His  high  standard  of  the  duty  a  citizen 
owes  to  his  Commonwealth  induced  him,  notwithstand 
ing  his  great  age,  to  accept  the  position.  Moreover, 
did  he  not  know  that  "  the  used  key  is  always  bright, 
as  Poor  Richard  says"?  He  declined  to  accept  any 
salary  for  himself,  but  devoted  it  all  to  schools  and 
churches. 

In  his  last  year  of  office  his  supremacy  as  a  citizen 
was  again  acknowledged.  He  was  called  upon  to  aid 
in  framing  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  He 
was  eighty-one  years  old,  and,  while  fulfilling  every 
duty  required  by  his  presidency  of  the  State,  neglected 
not  a  single  demand  on  his  time  or  attention  as  a  dele 
gate  of  this  Constitutional  Convention.  A  noteworthy 
fact  has  been  pointed  out  by  our  accomplished  Secre 
tary,  Dr.  Hays,  namely,  that  the  signature  of  Franklin, 
and  of  Franklin  alone  of  all  the  giants  in  those  days, 
is  to  be  found  on  the  triple  pillars  of  our  government, 
—it  is  on  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  on  the 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  45 

Treaty  of  Peace  with  Great  Britain  acknowledging  that 
Independence,  and  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

After  all,  what  is  it  to  be  a  good  citizen?  Without 
entering  into  any  analysis,  always  tiresome,  may  we  not 
assume  that  he  who  leaves  the  Commonwealth  better 
than  he  found  it,  be  it  even  in  so  humble  a  degree  as 
the  giving  or  the  bequeathing  of  a  good  example,  or 
of  an  honest  name,  has  earned  the  right  to  be  entitled 
a  good  citizen?  Apply  this  test  to  Franklin  and  what 
do  we  find? 

When  Franklin  was  a  very  young  man,  the  first  civic 
duty  that  he  performed  was  the  reformation  of  the 
"  night  watch,"  which  at  that  time  would  apparently 
compare  favourably  with  that  of  London,  where  it 
had  only  very  slightly  improved  since  the  days  of  Dog 
berry.  The  nightly  tippling  in  taverns  of  the  Phila 
delphia  watchmen  possibly  surpassed  that  of  their  Lon 
don  rivals,  but  their  slumbers  when  on  duty  were  no 
less  profound  than  those  of  their  British  cousins,  and 
what  these  slumbers  were  we  may  learn  from  Lord 
Erskine.  "  A  friend  of  mine,"  said  Lord  Erskine,  on 
one  occasion,  "  was  suffering  from  a  continual  wake- 
fulness,  and  various  methods  were  tried  to  send  him  to 
sleep,  but  in  vain.  At  last,  his  physicians  resorted  to 
an  experiment  which  succeeded  perfectly;  they  dressed 


46  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

him  in  a  watchman's  coat,  put  a  lantern  in  his  hand, 
placed  him  in  a  sentry-box,  and — he  was  asleep  in  ten 
minutes."  After  much  persevering  effort,  Franklin  at 
last  succeeded  in  breaking  up  the  old  system  and  in 
substituting  one  which  was  supported  by  a  tax  levied 
in  proportion  to  the  value  of  property. 

When  Franklin  was  twenty-five  years  old,  there  was 
not  in  all  America  a  public  circulating  library.  He 
began  one,  and  it  still  survives  as  "  The  Philadelphia 
Library,"  and  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  land. 

In  a  small  town  mostly  of  wooden  houses,  a  conflagra 
tion  in  those  early  days  was  only  a  little  less  alarming 
than  an  attack  by  Indians.  Franklin  organized  the  first 
Fire  Company,  whereof  every  member  was  obliged  to 
keep  on  hand  "  six  leather  fire-buckets,  and  two  bags 
made  of  good  oznaburg  "  (whatever  that  may  be)  for 
the  preservation  of  personal  effects. 

When  Franklin  was  thirty-seven,  there  was  not  a 
single  organized  scientific  society  in  America.  He 
founded  this,  our  American  Philosophical  Society. 

The  first  militia  law  in  this  State  was  drawn  up  by 
Franklin,  and,  when  a  battery  was  built  below  the  city, 
he  took  his  turn  in  the  nightly  sentinel's  watch  as  a 
common  soldier,  although  the  battery  had  been  built 
and  equipped  mainly  by  his  exertions,  and  he  had  been 
offered  the  colonelcy  of  the  regiment  that  manned  it. 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  47 

Franklin  was  the  first  to  propose  a  public  Fast-day 
in  this  State  and  wrote  the  Proclamation  for  it,  which 
the  Governor  adopted  and  issued. 

And  all  this  while  he  was  filling  many  another  civic 
duty.  The  Governor  put  him  on  the  Commission  of 
the  Peace;  the  corporation  of  the  city  chose  him  as  one 
of  the  Common  Council,  and  soon  after,  an  Alderman; 
and  the  citizens  at  large  elected  him  a  Burgess  to  rep 
resent  them  in  the  Assembly,  and  continued  to  elect  him 
annually  for  fourteen  years,  even  during  his  absence 
in  France. 

In  1749,  when  he  was  forty-three,  he  planned  and 
started  the  Academy  which  finally  became  The  Univer 
sity  of  Pennsylvania, — now  one  of  the  leading  univer 
sities  of  the  United  States,  dear  to  all  of  us,  and,  in 
our  own  time,  re-created  by  its  great  Provost,  Dr.  Pep 
per,  also  Franklin's  successor  as  presiding  officer  of 
this,  our  Philosophical  Society. 

The  idea  of  a  public  hospital  originated  in  1751, 
with  Dr.  Thomas  Bond,  but,  discouraged  by  the  apathy 
of  his  fellow-citizens,  he  appealed  for  aid  to  Dr.  Frank 
lin  with  the  plea  that  there  was  no  carrying  through 
any  public-spirited  project  unless  Dr.  Franklin  counte 
nanced  it.  Dr.  Bond's  confidence  was  not  misplaced. 
Dr.  Franklin  speedily  secured  two  thousand  pounds  in 
voluntary  gifts,  and  then  induced  the  Assembly  to  con 
tribute  as  much  more.  With  these  sums  the  Hospital 


48  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

was  built,  the  earliest  in  America,  and  it  still  stands 
at  Ninth  and  Pine  streets,  with  its  hourly  increasing 
record  of  beneficence. 

All  duties  are  a  weariness,  but  is  there  any  of  the 
minor  duties  of  life  more  enervating  than  that  of  ask 
ing  for  subscriptions  to  a  charity?  How  eagerly  we 
seek  to  ameliorate  it  by  converting  the  appeal  into 
tickets  for  a  Lecture,  a  Concert,  or  a  Reading, — but  the 
pill  is  merely  disguised, — it  has  to  be  swallowed.  No 
one  is  exempt  from  the  distasteful  task.  Listen,  then, 
my  poor  brothers  and  sisters,  to  the  worldly-wise  words 
of  Dr.  Franklin.  Rules  for  your  guidance  may  alleviate 
your  woe.  "  In  the  first  place,"  says  that  guide,  "  I 
advise  you  to  apply  to  all  those  who,  you  know,  will 
give  something;  next  to  those  about  whom  you  are  un 
certain  whether  they  will  give  anything  or  not,  and 
show  them  the  list  of  those  who  have  given;  and,  lastly, 
do  not  neglect  those,  who,  you  are  sure,  will  give 
nothing,  for  in  some  of  them  you  may  be  mistaken." 

We  are  the  heirs  to  another  bequest  from  Franklin. 
In  1756  the  city  streets  were  neither  paved  nor  lighted 
at  night.  Franklin  caused  a  portion  of  the  street  about 
the  market  to  be  paved,  and  so  pleased  were  the  citi 
zens  with  its  manifest  comfort  and  cleanliness  that  they 
consented  to  be  taxed  for  the  paving  of  the  whole  city. 
And  then  followed  scavengers,  unknown  before.  And 
for  the  lighting  of  the  streets  at  night  Franklin  pro- 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  49 

posed  square  lamps  with  ventilation  instead  of  the  round 
globes  imported  from  England,  which  became  immedi 
ately  smoky  and  dim. 

And  for  none  of  his  manifold  inventions  would  he 
take  out  a  patent,  but  presented  them  all  freely  to  the 
public. 

Those  steel-grey  eyes  observed  everything  from  the 
lightning  in  the  skies  to  an  improvement  in  spectacles, 
from  smoky  chimneys  to  currents  in  the  ocean,  from 
the  best  rigging  for  ships  to  stoves  for  burning  pit-coal. 

Franklin's  last  official  act  before  leaving  France,  in 
1785,  was  the  signing  of  the  treaty  between  Prussia  and 
the  United  States.  The  twenty-third  article  of  this 
treaty,  written  by  Franklin,  constitutes  one  of  the  fair 
est  jewels  in  the  crown  of  his  philanthropy, — a  philan 
thropy  so  broad  that  it  embraces  every  nation  that 
"  heaven's  air  in  this  huge  rondure  hems."  It  is  the 
article  against  privateering,  and  in  favour  of  the  free 
dom  of  trade  and  of  the  protection  of  private  property 
in  time  of  war.  This  standard  of  philanthropy  and  of 
justice  is  so  exalted  that  even  yet  (I  speak  under  cor 
rection),  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  later,  the  nations 
of  the  earth  are  but  just  beginning  to  acknowledge  and 
obey  it. 

Thus  he  passed  his  life.  Serving  his  fellow-citizens 
for  fifty  years,  breathing  the  breath  of  civic  devotion 
into  a  newly  born  nation,  and  welding  the  hoop  of 

5 


50  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

gold,  to  bind  these  brother  States  in  a  union  which 
is  to  be  perpetual.  Nor  was  it  alone  in  civic  life  that 
he  won  admiration  and  reverence;  his  presence  was 
at  firesides  in  thronged  cities,  and  by  smouldering  logs 
in  lone  frontier  cabins,  uttering  words  of  counsel,  and 
appeals  for  the  practice  of  honesty,  frugality  and  in 
dustry,  driving  the  counsel  home  in  the  irresistible 
proverbs  of  Poor  Richard. 

But  let  us  not  be  carried  away  by  an  undue  enthusi 
asm.  In  praise  of  Poor  Richard  we  may  exhaust  all 
adjectives  and  pant  for  more.  But  we  must  never  forget 
that  the  virtues  which  Poor  Richard  inculcates  are  those 
which  lie  on  the  surface  of  our  work-a-day  life, — vir 
tues  truly  admirable,  truly  indispensable, — russet  yeas 
and  honest  kersey  noes  will  be  for  ever  respectable,  and 
life  will  glide  the  smoother  where  they  are  heeded.  But 
there  is  a  life  beyond  life,  illuminated 

"  By  the  light  that  never  was  on  sea  or  land 
The  consecration  and  the  poet's  dream," 

a  life  in  the  music,  in  the  colour  of  this  fair  world  of 
God;  and  when  ambition  would  pierce  to  this  life,  we 
must,  as  Emerson  says,  "  hitch  our  wagon  to  a  star." 
But  for  all  life  below  the  stars,  on  the  level  of  this 
homespun  world,  we  may  hitch  our  wagon  to  Poor 
Richard. 

But  I  must  bring  to  a  close  these  remarks,  fragmentary 
as  they  must  be  in  dealing  with  a  character  so  colossal 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  51 

and  complete  as  Franklin's.  He  has  at  last  reached 
his  eighty-fourth  year,  and  the  case  of  that  huge  spirit 
is  growing  old  and  racked  by  torturing  pain.  Yet  in 
the  midst  of  all,  but  a  few  months  before  his  death,  he 
placed  the  supreme  crown  and  effulgent  glory  on  a 
career  of  philanthropy  by  writing  an  appeal  to  Congress 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  that  "  atrocious  debasement," 
so  he  termed  it,  "  of  human  nature."  In  thus  pleading 
for  the  very  least  of  his  brethren,  he  laid  his  just  hands 
on  the  golden  key  that  opes  the  palace  of  eternity,  and 
gained  a  mansion  on  the  starry  threshold  of  Jove's  court. 
Bear  with  me  one  minute  longer  while  I  recall  to 
your  memory  the  conclusions  of  two  letters.  I  care 
not  how  well-known  to  you  they  may  be.  They  should 
be  rehearsed  until  they  are  as  familiar  in  our  mouths 
as  household  words.  The  first  is  addressed  to  Wash 
ington  and  was  written  from  Franklin's  dying  bed:  "  For 
my  own  personal  ease,"  Franklin  writes,  "  I  should  have 
died  two  years  ago;  but,  though  these  years  have  been 
spent  in  excruciating  pain,  I  am  pleased  that  I  have 
lived  them,  since  they  have  brought  me  to  see  our  pres 
ent  situation.  I  am  now  finishing  my  eighty-fourth  year, 
and  probably  with  it  my  career  in  this  life;  but  in 
whatever  state  of  existence  I  am  placed  hereafter,  if  I 
retain  any  memory  of  what  has  passed  here,  I  shall  with 
it  retain  the  esteem,  respect,  and  affection,  with  which 


$2  FURNESS:  FRANKLIN 

I  have  long  been,  my  dear  friend,  Yours  most  sincerely, 
B.  Franklin." 

Now  listen  to  the  conclusion  of  the  reply:  "  If  to 
be  venerated  for  benevolence,"  writes  Washington,  "  if 
to  be  admired  for  talents,  if  to  be  esteemed  for  patriot 
ism,  if  to  be  beloved  for  philanthropy,  can  gratify  the 
human  mind,  you  must  have  the  pleasing  consolation 
to  know,  that  you  have  not  lived  in  vain.  And  I  flat 
ter  myself  that  it  will  not  be  ranked  among  the  least 
grateful  occurrences  of  your  life  to  be  assured,  that, 
so  long  as  I  retain  my  memory,  you  will  be  recollected 
with  respect,  veneration,  and  affection  by  your  sincere 
friend,  George  Washington." 

Ah,  throughout  the  inflowing  tide  of  time  and  cir 
cumstance,  will  history  ever,  ever  see  again  the  like 
of  him,  the  greatest  of  all  our  citizens?  But  let  our 
gratitude,  like  incense,  mount  the  skies  that  one  such 
has  been  vouchsafed  to  us. 

"  There's  not  a  breathing  of  the  common  wind 
That  will  forget  him." 

The  demi-god  of  war,  who  brought  into  millions  of 
homes,  bitter  sobs  and  blinding  tears,  sleeps  beneath  a 
lofty  dome,  with  marble  angels  gazing  sadly  on  his 
porphyry  tomb. 

The  demi-god  of  peace,  who  scattered  plenty  o'er 
a  smiling  land,  and  brought  into  millions  of  homes, 


AS  CITIZEN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST  53 

honesty,  and  frugality,  and  sterling  virtue,  lies,  as  he 
wished  to  lie,  in  the  heart,  and  in  the  hearts,  of  the  city 
that  he  loved,  under  the  humble  walls  of  the  churchyard 
of  Christ  Church. 

"  Daily  the  tides  of  life  go  ebbing  and  flowing  beside  him, 
Thousands  of  [scheming]  brains,  where  his  no  longer  are  busy, 
Thousands  of  toiling  hands,  where  his  have  ceased  from  their  labours, 
Thousands  of  weary  feet,  where  his  have  completed  their  journey." 


FRANKLIN 
AS    PRINTER    AND    PHILOSOPHER 

BY  CHARLES  WILLIAM  ELIOT,  LL.D. 

[Address  delivered  in  The  American  Academy  of  Music,  Friday,  April  20] 

THE  facts  about  Franklin  as  printer  are  simple  and 
plain,  but  impressive.  His  father,  respecting  the 
boy's  strong  disinclination  to  become  a  tallow-chandler, 
selected  the  printer's  trade  for  him,  after  giving  him 
opportunities  to  see  members  of  several  different  trades 
at  their  work,  and  considering  the  boy's  own  tastes  and 
aptitudes.  It  was  at  twelve  years  of  age  that  Franklin 
signed  indentures  as  an  apprentice  to  his  older  brother 
James,  who  was  already  an  established  printer.  By  the 
time  he  was  seventeen  years  old  he  had  mastered  the 
trade  in  all  its  branches  so  completely  that  he  could  ven 
ture  with  hardly  any  money  in  his  pocket  first  into  New 
York  and  then  into  Philadelphia  without  a  friend  or 
acquaintance  in  either  place,  and  yet  succeed  promptly 
in  earning  his  living.  He  knew  all  the  departments  of 
the  business.  He  was  a  pressman  as  well  as  a  compos 
itor.  He  understood  both  newspaper  work  and  book 
work.  There  were  at  that  time  no  such  sharp  sub 
divisions  of  labor  and  no  such  elaborate  machinery  as 
exist  in  the  trade  to-day,  and  Franklin  could  do  with 

(55) 


56  ELIOT:  FRANKLIN 

his  own  eyes  and  hands,  long  before  he  was  of  age, 
everything  which  the  printer's  art  was  then  equal  to. 
When  the  faithless  Governor  Keith  caused  Franklin  to 
land  in  London  without  any  resources  whatever  except 
his  skill  at  his  trade,  the  youth  was  fully  capable  of  sup 
porting  himself  in  the  great  city  as  a  printer.  Franklin 
had  been  induced  by  the  Governor  to  go  to  England, 
where  he  was  to  buy  a  complete  outfit  for  a  good  print 
ing  office  to  be  set  up  in  Philadelphia.  He  had  already 
presented  the  Governor  with  an  inventory  of  all  the 
materials  needed  in  a  small  printing  office,  and  was  com 
petent  to  make  a  critical  selection  of  all  these  materials; 
but  when  he  arrived  in  London  on  this  errand  he  was 
only  eighteen  years  old.  Thrown  completely  on  his  own 
resources  in  the  great  city,  he  immediately  got  work  at 
a  famous  printing  house  in  Bartholomew  Close,  but 
soon  moved  to  a  still  larger  printing  house,  in  which  he 
remained  during  the  rest  of  his  stay  in  London.  Here 
he  worked  as  a  pressman  at  first,  but  was  soon  trans 
ferred  to  the  composing  room,  evidently  excelling  his 
comrades  in  both  branches  of  the  art.  The  customary 
drink  money  was  demanded  of  him,  first  by  the  press 
men  with  whom  he  was  associated,  and  afterwards  by 
the  compositors.  Franklin  undertook  to  resist  the  second 
demand;  and  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  after  a 
resistance  of  three  weeks  he  was  forced  to  yield  to  the 
demands  of  the  men  by  just  such  measures  as  are  now 


AS  PRINTER  AND  PHILOSOPHER  57 

used  against  any  scab  in  a  unionized  printing  office. 
He  says  in  his  autobiography:  "  I  had  so  many  little 
pieces  of  private  mischief  done  me  by  mixing  my  sorts, 
transposing  my  pages,  breaking  my  matter,  and  so  forth, 
if  I  were  ever  so  little  out  of  the  room  .  .  .  that,  not 
withstanding  the  master's  protection,  I  found  myself 
obliged  to  comply  and  pay  the  money,  convinced  of  the 
folly  of  being  on  ill  terms  with  those  one  is  to  live  with 
continually."  He  was  stronger  than  any  of  his  mates, 
kept  his  head  clearer  because  he  did  not  fuddle  it  with 
beer,  and  availed  himself  of  the  liberty  which  then 
existed  of  working  as  fast  and  as  much  as  he  chose.  On 
this  point  he  says:  "My  constant  attendance  (I  never 
making  a  St.  Monday)  recommended  me  to  the  master; 
and  my  uncommon  quickness  at  composing  occasioned 
my  being  put  upon  all  work  of  dispatch,  which  was  gen 
erally  better  paid.  So  I  went  on  now  very  agreeably." 
On  his  return  to  Philadelphia  Franklin  obtained  for  a 
few  months  another  occupation  than  that  of  printer;  but 
this  employment  failing  through  the  death  of  his  em 
ployer,  Franklin  again  returned  to  printing,  becoming 
the  manager  of  a  small  printing  office,  in  which  he  was 
the  only  skilled  workman  and  was  expected  to  teach  sev 
eral  green  hands.  At  that  time  he  was  only  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  This  printing  office  often  wanted  sorts, 
and  there  was  no  type-foundry  in  America.  Franklin 
succeeded  in  contriving  a  mold,  struck  the  matrices  in 


58  ELIOT:  FRANKLIN 

lead,  and  thus  supplied  the  deficiencies  of  the  office. 
The  autobiography  says:  "  I  also  engraved  several  things 
on  occasion;  I  made  the  ink;  I  was  warehouse  man  and 
everything,  and  in  short  quite  a  factotum."  Neverthe 
less,  he  was  dismissed  before  long  by  his  incompetent 
employer,  who,  however,  was  glad  to  re-engage  him  a 
few  days  later  on  obtaining  a  job  to  print  some  paper 
money  for  New  Jersey.  Thereupon  Franklin  contrived 
a  copperplate  press  for  this  job — the  first  that  had  been 
seen  in  the  country — and  cut  the  ornaments  for  the  bills. 
Meantime  Franklin,  with  one  of  the  apprentices,  had 
ordered  a  press  and  types  from  London,  that  they  two 
might  set  up  an  independent  office.  Shortly  after  the  New 
Jersey  job  was  finished,  these  materials  arrived  in  Phila 
delphia,  and  Franklin  immediately  opened  his  own 
printing  office.  His  partner  "  was,  however,  no  com 
positor,  a  poor  pressman,  and  seldom  sober."  The  office 
prospered,  and  in  July,  1730,  when  Franklin  was  twenty- 
four  years  old,  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  and  Frank 
lin  was  at  the  head  of  a  well-established  and  profitable 
printing  business.  This  business  was  the  foundation  of 
Franklin's  fortune;  and  better  foundation  no  man  could 
desire.  His  industry  was  extraordinary.  Contrary  to 
the  current  opinion,  Dr.  Baird  of  St.  Andrews  tes 
tified  that  the  new  printing  office  would  succeed,  "  For 
the  industry  of  that  Franklin,"  he  said,  "  is  superior  to 
anything  I  ever  saw  of  the  kind;  I  see  him  still  at  work 


AS  PRINTER  AND  PHILOSOPHER  59 

when  I  go  home  from  club,  and  he  is  at  work  again 
before  his  neighbors  are  out  of  bed."  No  trade  rules 
or  customs  limited,  or  levied  toll  on,  his  productiveness. 
He  speedily  became  by  far  the  most  successful  printer 
in  all  the  colonies,  and  in  twenty  years  was  able  to  retire 
from  active  business  with  a  competency. 

One  would,  however,  get  a  wrong  impression  of  Frank 
lin's  career  as  a  printer  if  he  failed  to  observe  that 
Franklin  constantly  used,  from  his  boyhood,  his  connec 
tion  with  a  printing  office  to  facilitate  his  remarkable 
work  as  an  author,  editor,  and  publisher.  Even  while 
he  was  an  apprentice  to  his  brother  James  he  succeeded 
in  getting  issued  from  his  brother's  press  ballads  and 
newspaper  articles  of  which  he  was  the  anonymous  au 
thor.  When  he  had  a  press  of  his  own,  he  used  it  for 
publishing  a  newspaper,  an  almanac,  and  numerous  es 
says  composed  or  compiled  by  himself.  His  genius  as 
a  writer  supported  his  skill  and  industry  as  a  printer. 

The  second  part  of  the  double  subject  assigned  to  me 
is  Franklin  as  a  philosopher.  The  philosophy  he  taught 
and  illustrated  related  to  four  perennial  subjects  of 
human  interest:  education,  natural  science,  politics,  and 
morals.  I  propose  to  deal  in  that  order  with  these  four 
topics. 

Franklin's  philosophy  of  education  was  elaborated 
as  he  grew  up,  and  was  applied  to  himself  throughout 


60  ELIOT:  FRANKLIN 

his  life.  In  the  first  place,  he  had  no  regular  education 
of  the  usual  sort.  He  studied  and  read  with  an  extra 
ordinary  diligence  from  his  earliest  years;  but  he  studied 
only  the  subjects  which  attracted  him,  or  which  he  him 
self  believed  would  be  good  for  him,  and  throughout  life 
he  pursued  only  those  inquiries  for  pursuing  which  he 
found  within  himself  an  adequate  motive.  The  most 
important  element  in  his  training  was  reading,  for  which 
he  had  a  precocious  desire,  which  was  imperative  and 
proved  to  be  lasting.  His  opportunities  to  get  books 
were  scanty;  but  he  seized  on  all  such  opportunities,  and 
fortunately  he  early  came  upon  the  Pilgrim's  Progress, 
the  Spectator,  Plutarch,  Xenophon's  Memorabilia,  and 
Locke  On  the  Human  Understanding.  Practice  of  Eng 
lish  composition  was  the  next  agency  in  Franklin's  edu 
cation;  and  his  method — quite  of  his  own  invention- 
was  certainly  an  admirable  one.  He  would  make  brief 
notes  of  the  thoughts  contained  in  a  good  piece  of  writ 
ing,  and  lay  these  notes  aside  for  several  days ;  then 
without  looking  at  the  book  he  would  endeavor  to  ex 
press  these  thoughts  in  his  own  words  as  fully  as  they 
had  been  expressed  in  the  original  paper.  Lastly,  he 
would  compare  his  products  with  the  original,  thus  dis 
covering  his  shortcomings  and  errors.  To  improve  his 
vocabulary,  he  turned  specimens  of  prose  into  verse, 
and  later,  when  he  had  forgotten  the  original,  turned 
the  verse  back  again  into  prose.  This  exercise  enlarged 


AS  PRINTER  AND  PHILOSOPHER  61 

his  vocabulary  and  his  acquaintance  with  synonyms  and 
their  different  shades  of  meaning,  and  showed  him  how 
he  could  twist  phrases  and  sentences  about.  His  times 
for  such  exercises  and  for  reading  were  at  night  after 
work,  before  work  began  in  the  morning,  and  on  Sun 
days.  This  severe  training  he  imposed  on  himself;  and 
he  was  well  advanced  in  it  before  he  was  sixteen  years 
of  age.  His  memory  and  his  imagination  must  both 
have  served  him  well;  for  he  not  only  acquired  a  style 
fit  for  narrative,  exposition,  or  argument,  but  also  learnt 
to  use  the  fable,  parable,  paraphrase,  proverb,  and  dia 
logue.  Thirdly,  he  began  very  early,  while  he  was  still 
a  young  boy,  to  put  all  he  had  learnt  to  use  in  writing 
for  publication.  When  he  was  but  nineteen  years  old 
he  wrote  and  published  in  London  "A  Dissertation  on 
Liberty  and  Necessity,  Pleasure  and  Pain."  In  after 
years  he  was  not  proud  of  this  pamphlet;  but  it  was 
nevertheless  a  remarkable  production  for  a  youth  of 
nineteen.  So  soon  as  he  was  able  to  establish  a  news 
paper  in  Philadelphia  he  wrote  for  it  with  great  spirit 
and  in  a  style  at  once  accurate,  concise,  and  attractive, 
making  immediate  application  of  his  reading  and  of  the 
conversation  of  intelligent  acquaintances  on  both  sides  of 
the  ocean.  His  fourth  principle  of  education  was  that 
it  should  continue  through  life,  and  should  make  use  of 
the  social  instincts.  To  that  end  he  thought  that  friends 
and  acquaintances  might  fitly  band  together  in  a  sys- 


62  ELIOT:  FRANKLIN 

tematic  endeavor  after  mutual  improvement.  The  Junto 
was  created  as  a  school  of  philosophy,  morality,  and  pol 
itics;  and  this  purpose  it  actually  served  for  many  years. 
Some  of  the  questions  read  at  every  meeting  of  the  Junto, 
with  a  pause  after  each  one,  would  be  curiously  oppor 
tune  in  such  a  society  at  the  present  day.  For  example, 
No.  5,  "  Have  you  lately  heard  how  any  present  rich 
man,  here  or  elsewhere,  got  his  estate?"  And  No.  6, 
"  Do  you  know  of  a  fellow-citizen  .  .  .  who  has  lately 
committed  an  error  proper  for  us  to  be  warned  against 
and  avoid?"  When  a  new  member  was  initiated  he  was 
asked  among  other  questions  the  following:  "  Do  you 
think  any  person  ought  to  be  harmed  in  his  body,  name, 
or  goods  for  mere  speculative  opinions  or  his  external 
way  of  worship?"  and  again,  "  Do  you  love  truth  for 
truth's  sake,  and  will  you  endeavor  impartially  to  find, 
receive  it  yourself,  and  communicate  it  to  others?"  The 
Junto  helped  to  educate  Franklin,  and  he  helped  greatly 
to  train  all  its  members. 

The  nature  of  Franklin's  own  education  accounts  for 
many  of  his  opinions  on  the  general  subject.  Thus,  he 
believed,  contrary  to  the  judgment  of  his  time,  that  Latin 
and  Greek  were  not  essential  subjects  in  a  liberal  educa 
tion,  and  that  mathematics,  in  which  he  never  excelled, 
did  not  deserve  the  place  it  held.  He  believed  that  any 
one  who  had  acquired  a  command  of  good  English  could 
learn  any  other  modern  language  that  he  really  needed, 


AS  PRINTER  AND  PHILOSOPHER  63 

when  he  needed  it;  and  this  faith  he  illustrated  in  his 
own  person,  for  he  learnt  French,  when  he  needed  it, 
sufficiently  well  to  enable  him  to  exercise  great  influence 
for  many  years  at  the  French  Court.  As  the  fruit  of  his 
education  he  exhibited  a  clear,  pungent,  persuasive  Eng 
lish  style  both  in  writing  and  in  conversation, — a  style 
which  gave  him  great  and  lasting  influence  among  men. 
It  is  easy  to  say  that  such  a  training  as  Franklin's  is  suit 
able  only  for  genius.  Be  that  as  it  may,  Franklin's 
philosophy  of  education  certainly  tells  in  favor  of  liberty 
for  the  individual  in  his  choice  of  studies,  and  teaches 
that  a  desire  for  good  reading  and  a  capacity  to  write 
well  are  two  very  important  fruits  of  any  liberal  culture. 
It  was  all  at  the  service  of  his  successor  Jefferson,  the 
founder  of  the  University  of  Virginia. 

Franklin's  studies  in  natural  philosophy  are  charac 
terized  by  remarkable  directness,  patience,  and  inven 
tiveness,  absolute  candor  in  seeking  the  truth,  and  a 
powerful  scientific  imagination.  What  has  been  usu 
ally  considered  his  first  discovery  was  the  now  famil 
iar  fact  that  northeast  storms  on  the  Atlantic  coast 
begin  to  leeward.  The  Pennsylvania  fireplace  he 
invented  was  an  ingenious  application  to  the  warm 
ing  and  ventilating  of  an  apartment  of  the  laws 
that  regulate  the  movement  of  hot  air.  At  the  age 
of  forty-one  he  became  interested  in  the  subject  of 
electricity,  and  with  the  aid  of  many  friends  and  ac- 


64  ELIOT:  FRANKLIN 

quaintances  pursued  the  subject  for  four  years,  with  no 
thought  about  personal  credit  for  inventing  either  the 
ories  or  processes,  but  simply  with  delight  in  experimen 
tation  and  in  efforts  to  explain  the  phenomena  he  ob 
served.  His  kite  experiment  to  prove  lightning  to  be 
an  electrical  phenomenon  very  possibly  did  not  really 
draw  lightning  from  the  cloud;  but  it  supplied  evidence 
of  electrical  energy  in  the  atmosphere  which  went  far 
to  prove  that  lightning  was  an  electrical  discharge.  The 
sagacity  of  Franklin's  scientific  inquiries  is  well  illus- 
tracted  by  his  notes  on  colds  and  their  causes.  He  main 
tains  that  the  influenzas  usually  classed  as  colds  do  not 
arise  as  a  rule  from  either  cold  or  dampness.  He  points 
out  that  savages  and  sailors,  who  are  often  wet,  do  not 
catch  cold,  and  that  the  disease  called  a  cold  is  not  taken 
by  swimming.  He  maintains  that  people  who  live  in 
the  forest,  in  open  barns,  or  with  open  windows,  do  not 
catch  cold,  and  that  the  disease  called  a  cold  is  generally 
caused  by  impure  air,  lack  of  exercise,  or  over-eating. 
He  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  influenzas  and  colds  are 
contagious — a  doctrine  which,  a  century  and  a  half  later, 
was  proved,  through  the  advance  of  bacteriological  sci 
ence,  to  be  sound.  The  following  sentence  exhibits  re 
markable  insight,  considering  the  state  of  medical  art  at 
that  time:  "  I  have  long  been  satisfied  from  observation, 
that  besides  the  general  colds  now  termed  influenzas 
(which  may  possibly  spread  by  contagion,  as  well  as  by 


AS  PRINTER  AND  PHILOSOPHER  65 

a  particular  quality  of  the  air),  people  often  catch  cold 
from  one  another  when  shut  up  together  in  close  rooms 
and  coaches,  and  when  sitting  near  and  conversing  so  as 
to  breathe  in  each  other's  transpiration;  the  disorder 
being  in  a  certain  state."  In  the  light  of  present  knowl 
edge  what  a  cautious  and  exact  statement  is  that! 

There  being  no  learned  society  in  all  America  at  the 
time,  Franklin's  scientific  experiments  were  almost  all 
recorded  in  letters  written  to  interested  friends;  and  he 
was  never  in  any  haste  to  write  these  letters.  He  never 
took  a  patent  on  any  of  his  inventions,  and  made  no  effort 
either  to  get  a  profit  from  them,  or  to  establish  any  sort 
of  intellectual  proprietorship  in  his  experiments  and 
speculations.  One  of  his  English  correspondents,  Mr. 
Collinson,  published  in  1751  a  number  of  Franklin's  let 
ters  to  him  in  a  pamphlet  called  "  New  Experiments  and 
Observations  in  Electricity  made  at  Philadelphia  in 
America."  This  pamphlet  was  translated  into  several 
European  languages,  and  established  over  the  continent 
—particularly  in  France — Franklin's  reputation  as  a  nat 
ural  philosopher.  A  great  variety  of  phenomena  en 
gaged  his  attention,  such  as  phosphorescence  in  sea  water, 
the  cause  of  the  saltness  of  the  sea,  the  form  and  tem 
peratures  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  the  effect  of  oil  in  stilling 
waves,  and  the  cause  of  smoky  chimneys.  Franklin  also 
reflected  and  wrote  on  many  topics  which  are  now  clas 
sified  under  the  head  of  political  economy,  such  as  paper 


66  ELIOT:  FRANKLIN 

currency,  national  wealth,  free  trade,  the  slave  trade, 
the  effects  of  luxury  and  idleness,  and  the  misery  and 
destruction  caused  by  war.  Not  even  his  caustic  wit 
could  adequately  convey  in  words  his  contempt  and 
abhorrence  of  war  as  a  mode  of  settling  questions  arising 
between  nations.  He  condensed  his  opinions  on  that 
subject  into  the  epigram:  "  There  never  was  a  good  war 
or  a  bad  peace." 

Franklin's  political  philosophy  may  all  be  summed  up 
in  seven  words — first  freedom,  then  public  happiness  and 
comfort.  The  spirit  of  liberty  was  born  in  him.  He 
resented  his  brother's  blows  when  he  was  an  apprentice, 
and  escaped  from  them.  As  a  mere  boy  he  refused  to 
attend  church  on  Sundays  in  accordance  with  the  custom 
of  his  family  and  his  town,  and  devoted  his  Sundays  to 
reading  and  study.  In  practicing  his  trade  he  claimed 
and  diligently  sought  complete  freedom.  In  public  and 
private  business  alike  he  tried  to  induce  people  to  take 
any  action  desired  of  them  by  presenting  to  them  a  mo 
tive  they  could  understand  and  feel — a  motive  which 
acted  on  their  own  wills  and  excited  their  hopes.  This 
is  the  only  method  possible  under  a  regime  of  liberty. 
A  perfect  illustration  of  his  practice  in  this  respect  is 
found  in  his  successful  provision  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  four-horse  wagons  for  Braddock's  force  when  it 
was  detained  on  its  march  from  Annapolis  to  Western 
Pennsylvania  by  the  lack  of  wagons.  The  military 


AS  PRINTER  AND  PHILOSOPHER  67 

method  would  have  been  to  seize  horses,  wagons,  and 
drivers  wherever  found.  Franklin  persuaded  Braddock, 
instead  of  using  force,  to  allow  him  (Franklin)  to  offer 
a  good  hire  for  horses,  wagons,  and  drivers,  and  proper 
compensation  for  the  equipment  in  case  of  loss.  By  this 
appeal  to  the  frontier  farmers  of  Pennsylvania  he  se 
cured  in  two  weeks  all  the  transportation  required.  To 
defend  public  order  Franklin  was  perfectly  ready  to  use 
public  force,  as  for  instance  when  he  raised  and  com 
manded  a  regiment  of  militia  to  defend  the  north 
western  frontier  from  the  Indians  after  Braddock's  de 
feat,  and  again  when  it  became  necessary  to  defend  Phil 
adelphia  from  a  large  body  of  frontiersmen  who  had 
lynched  a  considerable  number  of  friendly  Indians,  and 
were  bent  on  revolutionizing  the  Quaker  government. 
But  his  abhorrence  of  all  war  was  based  on  the  facts, 
first,  that  during  war  the  law  must  be  silent,  and  secondly, 
that  military  discipline,  which  is  essential  for  effective 
fighting,  annihilates  individual  liberty.  "  Those,"  he 
said,  "  who  would  give  up  essential  liberty  for  the  sake 
of  a  little  temporary  safety  deserve  neither  liberty  nor 
safety."  The  foundation  of  his  firm  resistance  on  behalf 
of  the  colonies  to  the  English  Parliament  was  his  im 
pregnable  conviction  that  the  love  of  liberty  was  the 
ruling  passion  of  the  people  of  the  colonies.  In  1766 
he  said  of  the  American  people:  "  Every  act  of  oppres 
sion  will  sour  their  tempers,  lessen  greatly,  if  not  anni- 


68  ELIOT:  FRANKLIN 

hilate,  the  profits  of  your  commerce  with  them,  and 
hasten  their  final  revolt;  for  the  seeds  of  liberty  are 
universally  found  there  and  nothing  can  eradicate  them." 
Because  they  loved  liberty,  they  would  not  be  taxed 
without  representation;  they  would  not  have  soldiers 
quartered  on  them,  or  their  governors  made  independent 
of  the  people  in  regard  to  their  salaries;  or  their  ports 
closed  or  their  commerce  regulated  by  Parliament.  It 
is  interesting  to  observe  how  Franklin's  experiments  and 
speculations  in  natural  science  often  had  a  favorable  in 
fluence  on  freedom  of  thought.  His  studies  in  economics 
had  a  strong  tendency  in  that  direction.  His  views  about 
religious  toleration  were  founded  on  his  intense  faith  in 
civil  liberty;  and  even  his  demonstration  that  lightning 
was  an  electrical  phenomenon  brought  deliverance  for 
mankind  from  an  ancient  terror.  It  removed  from  the 
domain  of  the  supernatural  a  manifestation  of  formid 
able  power  that  had  been  supposed  to  be  a  weapon  of 
the  arbitrary  gods;  and  since  it  increased  man's  power 
over  nature,  it  increased  his  freedom. 

This  faith  in  freedom  was  fully  developed  in  Franklin 
long  before  the  American  Revolution  and  the  French 
Revolution  made  the  fundamental  principles  of  liberty 
familiar  to  civilized  mankind.  His  views  concerning 
civil  liberty  were  even  more  remarkable  for  his  time 
than  his  views  concerning  religious  liberty;  but  they 
were  not  developed  in  a  passionate  nature  inspired  by 


AS  PRINTER  AND  PHILOSOPHER  69 

an  enthusiastic  idealism.  He  was  the  very  embodiment 
of  common  sense,  moderation,  and  sober  honesty.  His 
standard  of  human  society  is  perfectly  expressed  in  the 
description  of  New  England  which  he  wrote  in  1772. 
"  I  thought  often  of  the  happiness  in  New  England, 
where  every  man  is  a  freeholder,  has  a  vote  in  public 
affairs,  lives  in  a  tidy,  warm  house,  has  plenty  of  good 
food  and  fuel,  and  whole  clothes  from  head  to  foot,  the 
manufacture  perhaps  of  his  own  family.  Long  may 
they  continue  in  this  situation!"  Such  was  Franklin's 
conception  of  a  free  and  happy  people.  Such  was  his 
political  philosophy. 

The  moral  philosophy  of  Franklin  consisted  almost 
exclusively  in  the  inculcation  of  certain  very  practical 
and  unimaginative  virtues,  such  as  temperance,  frugal 
ity,  industry,  moderation,  cleanliness,  and  tranquility. 
Sincerity  and  justice,  and  resolution — that  indispensable 
fly-wheel  of  virtuous  habit — are  found  in  his  table  of 
virtues;  but  all  his  moral  precepts  seem  to  be  based  on 
observation  and  experience  of  life,  and  to  express  his 
convictions  concerning  what  is  profitable,  prudent,  and 
on  the  whole  satisfactory  in  the  life  that  now  is.  His 
philosophy  is  a  guide  of  life,  because  it  searches  out 
virtues  and  so  provides  the  means  of  expelling  vices. 
It  may  reasonably  determine  conduct.  It  did  determine 
Franklin's  conduct  to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  has  had 
a  prodigious  influence  for  good  on  his  countrymen  and 


70  ELIOT:  FRANKLIN 

on  civilized  mankind.  Nevertheless,  it  omits  all  con 
sideration  of  the  prime  motive  power  which  must  impel 
to  right  conduct,  as  fire  supplies  the  power  which  actuates 
the  engine.  That  motive  power  is  pure,  unselfish  love,— 
love  to  God  and  love  to  man.  "  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  .  .  .  and  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself." 

Franklin  never  seems  to  have  perceived  that  the  su 
preme  tests  of  civilization  are  the  tender  and  honorable 
treatment  of  women  as  equals,  and  the  sanctity  of  home 
life.  There  was  one  primary  virtue  on  his  list  which 
he  did  not  always  practice.  His  failure  in  this  respect 
diminished  his  influence  for  good  among  his  contempor 
aries,  and  must  always  qualify  the  admiration  with  which 
mankind  will  regard  him  as  a  moral  philosopher  and 
an  exhorter  to  a  good  life.  His  sagacity,  intellectual 
force,  versatility,  originality,  firmness,  fortunate  period 
of  service,  and  longevity  combined  to  make  him  a  great 
leader  of  his  people.  In  American  public  affairs  the 
generation  of  wise  leaders  next  to  his  own  felt  for  him 
high  admiration  and  respect;  and  the  strong  Republic 
whose  birth  and  youthful  growth  he  witnessed  will  carry 
down  his  fame  as  political  philosopher,  patriot,  and 
apostle  of  liberty  through  long  generations. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

PAINTED   BY  DAVID   MARTIN   ABOUT    1766 
FROM    THE    COPY  BY  CHARLES  WILLSON   PEALE   IN  THE    POSSESSION  OF  THE   AMERICAN    PHILOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY 


FRANKLIN 
AS    STATESMAN    AND    DIPLOMATIST 

BY  JOSEPH  HODGES  CHOATE,  LL.D.,  D.C.L. 

[Address  delivered  in  The  American  Academy  of  Music,  Friday,  April  20] 

TO  attempt  to  portray  Fraklin  as  statesman  and 
diplomatist  in  forty  minutes  is  like  trying  to  write 
on  the  palm  of  your  hand  the  history  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  of  which  he  was  so  important  a  part.  From 
the  time  when  he  began  organizing  the  civic  life  of 
Philadelphia,  and  making  it  the  model  city  of  the  con 
tinent,  until  sixty  years  afterwards,  when  upon  his  death 
bed  and  in  immediate  expectation  of  death,  he  signed 
the  Memorial  to  Congress  for  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
"  that  it  would  be  pleased  to  countenance  the  restora 
tion  of  liberty  to  those  unhappy  men  who  alone  in  this 
land  of  freedom  are  degraded  into  perpetual  bondage, 
and  who  amidst  the  general  joy  of  surrounding  freedom 
are  groaning  in  servile  subjection,"  he  was  always  the 
statesman,  and  generally  quite  in  advance  of  his  times. 
From  1757,  when  he  visited  London  to  test  the  question 
whether  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  with  its  two  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  was  the  property  of  the  descen 
dants  of  William  Penn,  or  belonged  to  its  own  citizens, 

(71) 


72  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

till  1785,  when  he  arrived  home  from  Paris,  bringing  his 
sheaves  with  him  in  the  shape  of  one  of  the  most  im 
portant  and  beneficent  treaties  ever  signed  between  na 
tions,  he  was  always  the  diplomatist,  the  foremost  of  his 
time,  or,  as  I  think,  of  any  time.  It  is  not  in  the  nature 
of  things  to  divide  Franklin  into  three  distinct  sections 
or  compartments,  as  our  program  of  to-day  invites  us 
to  do,  and  find  in  each  a  distinct  being  labelled  "  philan 
thropist,"  "  philosopher  "  and  "  statesman,"  because  he 
was  everywhere  and  always  the  same  Franklin,  unique 
and  indivisible,  and  the  same  qualities  which  made  him 
great  in  the  other  relations  of  life,  in  which  he  has  just 
been  depicted,  made  him  also  the  great  statesman.  It 
was  that  marvellous  common  sense  in  uncommon  propor 
tions,  that  powerful  and  active  brain,  capable  almost 
from  childhood  of  dealing  with  any  subject,  his  tireless 
industry,  self-denial,  tact,  thrift  and  good  nature,  and 
his  unfailing  interest  in  human  affairs,  his  courage  and 
wit  and  self-assertion  that  made  this  all-round  man  pre 
eminently  fit  for  any  service,  public  or  private. 

He  had  one  vast  advantage  over  all  the  other  chief 
founders  of  our  republic,  in  his  superior  age  and  expe 
rience  and  public  prestige.  When  Franklin  had  already 
snatched  the  lightning  from  the  clouds,  and  taken  his 
place  among  the  most  famous  of  the  earth,  Washington 
was  still  following  the  modest  career  of  a  surveyor  in 
the  Alleghany  hills  and  valleys.  John  Adams  was  still 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  73 

a  school  boy.  Jefferson  was  just  out  of  the  nursery,  and 
Hamilton  was  not  to  be  born  for  ten  years,  and  this  long 
period  of  precedence  he  had  spent  in  a  way  best  suited 
to  create  the  future  statesman  and  diplomatist. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  in  the  New  England  town 
meeting  the  secret  of  political  science  was  solved,  and 
the  foundations  of  republican  government  were  laid.  If 
this  was  so  in  the  abstract,  what  a  concrete  example  of 
true  training  for  public  life  was  Franklin's  experience 
here  for  the  quarter  of  a  century  after  his  return  home 
from  that  first  hapless  journey  to  London  in  1826.  He 
had  a  natural  instinct  for  public  life,  quite  as  strong  and 
controlling  as  marks  the  young  men  of  the  governing 
class  in  England,  who  are  born  and  bred  to  it  from  gen 
eration  to  generation,  and  how  different  had  been  his 
training!  For  him,  no  university,  no  college,  and  only 
school  enough  for  the  simplest  rudiments  of  learning. 
The  tallow  chandler's  shop  and  the  printing  office  and 
his  own  genius  for  self  culture  did  the  rest.  It  was  his 
keen  interest  in  human  affairs,  his  concern  for  the  wel 
fare  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived,  and  his  natural 
ambition  for  leadership,  that  with  him  supplied  the 
place  of  school  and  college  and  university. 

When  he  walked  up  Market  Street,  with  a  roll  under 
each  arm  and  munching  the  third,  Philadelphia,  the 
modest  Quaker  village  of  seven  thousand  inhabitants, 
seemed  as  little  likely  to  be  a  nursery  of  greatness,  as 


74  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

the  runaway  apprentice  from  Boston  gave  promise  of 
being  by  and  by  the  most  eminent  citizen  of  America. 

You  can  actually  trace  the  successive  steps  here  in 
Philadelphia  by  which  this  green  and  awkward  youth, 
after  sowing  his  wild  oats  in  London,  advanced  from 
obscurity  to  recognition,  from  recognition  to  influence, 
from  influence  to  leadership,  in  this  town  which  he  had 
made  his  home.  Diligence  in  his  business  was  at  the 
bottom  of  it  all.  "  Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in  his 
business,  he  shall  stand  before  Kings,"  and  he  was  proud 
to  say  in  his  old  age  that  he  had  stood  before  five  kings 
and  sat  with  one  of  them;  and  then,  constant  study,  read 
ing  and  writing  and  thinking  on  every  branch  of  knowl 
edge  in  every  hour  that  he  could  snatch  from  labor  made 
him  what  he  came  to  be. 

The  founding  of  the  Junto  for  debate  and  self-im 
provement,  composed  of  a  dozen  quick-witted,  young 
working  men  of  his  own  age,  and  its  ramification  into  as 
sociated  clubs;  the  purchase  and  editing  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  Gazette,  and  the  establishment  of  Poor  Richard's 
Almanac,  into  both  of  which  he  threw  the  whole  weight 
of  his  rich  and  charming  personality,  making  the  one  the 
best  newspaper  in  the  colonies  and  the  other  a  familiar 
and  welcome  guest  in  nearly  every  household  in  the 
land,  and  both  his  personal  organs,  when  no  one  else 
had  an  organ,  through  the  whole  period  of  his  growth 
to  greatness;  his  original  conception  of  the  library  which 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  75 

has  been  such  a  vast  benefit  to  Philadelphia,  and  the 
mother  and  model  of  many  similar  libraries  througout 
the  land;  the  printing  and  publishing  of  many  valuable 
works,  of  all  of  which  we  may  be  sure  he  mastered  the 
contents,  in  that  hour  or  two  of  every  day  stolen  for 
study, — during  which  he  also  learned  French,  Italian 
and  Spanish;  his  constant  and  increasing  correspondence 
with  men  of  light  and  learning  everywhere;  the  found 
ing  of  this  The  American  Philosophical  Society;  his 
achievements  in  electricity;  the  founding  of  the  school 
that  grew  to  be  the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  his 
hearty  support  of  the  project  for  the  Pennsylvania  Hos 
pital;  the  paving  and  lighting  of  the  city,  and  his 
efforts  to  place  the  Province  in  a  condition  to  defend 
itself;  his  service  as  a  member  of  the  City  Council  and 
as  alderman,  as  clerk  and  member  of  the  Assembly  and 
as  Public  Printer,  and  finally  his  service  as  postmaster 
of  Philadelphia  and  Deputy  Postmaster-General  of  all 
the  colonies  and  his  long  controversy  and  struggle  with 
the  proprietors, — these  were  the  steady  and  gradual 
marches  by  which,  by  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen 
tury,  he  had  grown  to  be  not  only  the  best  known  man 
in  America,  but  the  best  qualified  for  every  form  of 
public  service.  In  him  were  concentrated  all  the  best 
forms  of  practical  politics.  He  was  never  anything  if 
not  practical. 

And  now  thus  splendidly  qualified  and  equipped  for 


76  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

great  affairs,  in  the  very  prime  of  life,  known  and  hon 
ored  by  all  men  in  all  civilized  lands,  he  was  to  enter 
upon  forty  years  of  continuous  public  service  of  the 
highest  character  and  dignity. 

It  is  the  ordinary  fate  of  public  men  to  leave  no  indel 
ible  marks  of  their  service  to  impress  their  memory  upon 
future  generations.  Most  of  them  make  a  great  impres 
sion  upon  their  own  time  by  their  speeches.  But  the 
published  speeches  of  even  great  orators  fill  the  shelves 
of  public  libraries,  unread  and  unopened,  when  their 
contemporaries  have  passed  away.  I  know  of  but  two 
in  the  English  language,  one  upon  either  side  of  the 
water — Burke  and  Webster — who  continue  to  be  gener 
ally  read  and  studied  by  later  generations.  And  Frank 
lin  made  no  speeches.  Like  Washington,  he  is  said 
never  to  have  spoken  more  than  fifteen  minutes  at  a 
time  on  any  subject. 

It  was  his  peculiar  felicity  to  have  been  concerned  in 
great  actions,  which  speak,  even  to  posterity,  so  much 
louder  than  words,  and  which  preserve  to  remote  ages 
the  memory  of  the  chief  actors  in  them.  To  have  stood 
as  the  responsible  representative  of  America  for  fifteen 
years  in  England  and  for  ten  years  in  France,  in  periods 
most  critical  for  those  countries  and  his  own,  and  so  to 
have  lived  history  at  its  best  and  most  interesting  points 
of  time;  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  first  plan  of 
Union  of  the  American  colonies,  which  was  the  germ 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  77 

of  the  final  plan;  to  have  signed  and  helped  to  frame 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Treaty  of  Alliance, 
the  Treaty  of  Commerce,  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  and  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States — these  great  acts  are 
sufficient  to  place  him  in  the  front  rank  of  our  construc 
tive  statesmen  and  designate  him  as  the  greatest  of  our 
diplomatists  from  the  beginning  until  now. 

It  is  the  fate  of  the  average  ambassador  or  minister 
to  foreign  countries  to  become  generally  subject  to  the 
influence  of  his  new  surroundings,  and  to  look  sometimes 
through  foreign  spectacles  at  public  and  social  questions, 
and  unduly  to  admire  the  rulers  and  institutions  of  the 
nations  which  wrelcome  them  so  warmly  and  honor  them 
so  highly.  But  it  was  the  unique  merit  of  Franklin  to 
be  so  intensely  American  that  no  foreign  influence  could 
touch  him.  Jefferson  argued  that  it  spoilt  an  American 
diplomatist  to  keep  him  abroad  seven  years — and  I  think 
many  instances  could  be  cited  in  support  of  his  argu 
ment.  But  Jefferson  took  care  to  add  that  this  did 
not  apply  to  Franklin,  who,  he  says,  was  America 
itself  when  in  France,  not  subjecting  himself  to  French 
influence,  but  subjecting  France  to  American  influence, 
and  I  am  sure  that  this  is  true  of  him  in  his  fifteen 
years  in  England. 

The  American  ambassador  of  to-day  can  hardly  re 
alize  the  responsibility,  difficulty  and  danger  that  sur 
rounded  his  predecessor  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Tied 


78  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

fast  to  the  electric  cable,  he  receives  his  instructions  daily 
and  even  hourly,  and  has  but  to  repeat  them  by  rote  to 
the  foreign  office  of  the  government,  to  which  he  is 
accredited,  with  no  discretion  to  withhold  or  to  modify. 
He  is  seldom  consulted  as  to  the  formation  of  the  policy 
of  his  government  which  he  is  to  enforce  and  maintain 
abroad,  and  until  the  wise  reform  recently  inaugurated 
by  Secretary  Root,  he  has  seldom  been  kept  constantly 
informed  of  what  was  passing  at  home  between  his  own 
chief  and  the  ambassador  here  of  the  nation  at  whose 
Court  he  resides — even  upon  matters  with  which  he  him 
self  had  to  do — so  potent  is  the  cable  as  the  medium  and 
instrument  of  complete  control  the  world  over. 

But  it  was  not  so  in  Franklin's  time,  and  the  difficulties 
and  perils  that  beset  his  path  at  every  step  were  without 
number.  There  was  no  Secretary  of  State  until  October, 
1781,  nearly  three  years  after  the  Treaty  of  Alliance 
with  France  had  been  signed,  when  Robert  R.  Livings 
ton,  who  had  been  elected  to  the  office,  was  able  to  enter 
upon  its  duties.  But  under  the  Confederation  even  the 
Secretary  of  State  was  not  his  own  master.  So  jealous 
was  the  Congress  of  any  executive  power  that  he  was 
obliged,  as  a  practice,  to  send  out  no  papers  of  impor 
tance  without  first  submitting  them  to  Congress  and  also 
to  submit  to  Congress  all  despatches  and  communications 
from  abroad  with  his  drafts  of  replies.  "  Singularly 
able  and  accomplished  as  Livingston  was,"  says  Whar- 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  79 

ton,  "  he  never  was  intrusted  with  those  initiative  diplo 
matic  powers  which  in  England  and  now  under  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  are  confided  to  the  depart 
ment  having  charge  of  foreign  affairs.  Congress  con 
tinued  to  pass  resolutions  directing  the  policy  foreign 
ministers  were  to  pursue."  So  that  it  was  to  the  resolu 
tions  of  a  vacillating  Congress,  and  when  Congress  was 
not  in  session,  to  letters  from  a  constantly  shifting  Com- 
mitee  of  Congress  that  Franklin  had  to  look  for  general 
or  specific  instructions.  As  letters  then,  under  the  best 
circumstances,  averaged  two  months  in  their  passage 
from  Philadelphia  to  Paris;  and  after  the  war  between 
France  and  England  began  he  was  sometimes  six  months, 
and  at  one  time  eleven  months,  without  advice  from  his 
government,  he  had  to  act  upon  his  own  responsibility 
and  at  his  own  peril  in  matters  of  the  greatest  concern; 
and  so  the  greater  the  responsibility,  the  greater  the 
credit  for  all  his  diplomatic  achievements. 

In  another  respect,  Franklin  had  a  substantial  advan 
tage  as  our  representative  in  Paris.  The  Congress  of 
the  Confederation  seems  to  have  laid  down  the  proper 
rule  as  to  what  was  necessary  to  maintain  the  dignity 
of  their  diplomatic  representatives  abroad.  When  he 
was  first  appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  Paris 
the  salary  of  the  Commissioners  was  not  fixed  at  a  spe 
cific  sum,  Congress  resolving  "  that  they  shall  live  in 
such  a  style  and  manner  as  they  might  find  suitable  and 


CT  THE 

'N1VERS1 


8o  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

necessary  to  support  the  dignity  of  their  public  char 
acter,  and  that  besides  the  actual  expenses  of  the  Com 
missioners  a  handsome  allowance  should  be  made  to  each 
of  them  as  a  compensation  for  their  trouble,  risk  and 
services."  By  singular  good  fortune,  which  seemed 
always  to  attend  him,  Franklin  was  able  to  obey  this  in 
junction  of  Congress,  and  to  secure  for  himself  and  his 
embassy  an  establishment  in  the  suburbs  of  Paris  which 
served  in  a  most  perfect  way  as  a  dignified  and  suitable 
residence,  where  he  continued  to  live  during  the  whole 
of  his  nine  years  in  France  in  a  manner  becoming  the 
representative  of  his  country  abroad. 

The  quarter  of  Passy,  where  Franklin's  abode  was  sit 
uated,  was  then  one  of  the  most  attractive  in  the  environs 
of  the  capital,  and  was  happily  the  property  of  M.  de 
Chaumont,  a  great  friend  of  the  American  cause,  whom 
Franklin  in  a  letter  to  Washington  describes  as  "  the  first 
in  France  who  gave  us  credit  and,  before  the  Court 
showed  us  any  countenance,  trusted  us  with  two  thousand 
barrels  of  gunpowder,  and  from  time  to  time  afterwards 
exerted  himself  to  furnish  the  Congress  with  supplies  of 
various  kinds."  De  Chaumont,  who,  as  Wharton  infers, 
upon  some  understanding  with  the  French  government, 
freely  offered  this  handsome  mansion  on  grounds  on 
which  he  himself  resided  for  Franklin's  occupation,  was 
a  gentleman  of  fortune  and  distinction.  He  had  been 
one  of  the  Council  of  Louis  XV  and  then  held  an  im- 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  81 

portant  office  under  his  successor,  and  was  thus  in  close 
touch  with  the  ministry,  while  also  constantly  in  intimate 
contact  with  Franklin;  and,  as  the  interest  of  the  French 
government  in  our  affairs  increased,  there  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  he  was  an  active  medium  through  whom 
confidential  relations  were  maintained  before  and  after 
the  official  recognition  of  the  American  Commissioners 
between  them  and  the  ministry  without  exciting  the 
curiosity  of  the  outside  world.  Mr.  Bigelow  truly  says 
that  "  his  timely  and  judicious  hospitality  has  associated 
his  name  only  less  prominently  than  Franklin's  with  the 
fortunes  of  the  great  American  republic,"  and  that  the 
people  of  the  United  States  should  hold  him  in  grateful 
and  honored  remembrance. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  the  value  of  Franklin's  public 
services.  They  are  simply  inestimable. 

The  scheme  of  union  which  the  Congress  of  the  seven 
northern  colonies  adopted  in  1754  was  Franklin's  scheme. 
It  contained  some  of  the  germs  which  afterwards  took 
root  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  It  aimed 
at  the  formation  of  a  self-sustaining  Federal  government 
with  authority  as  obligatory  in  its  sphere  as  the  local 
governments  were  in  their  spheres.  The  home  govern 
ment  rejected  it  as  too  democratic,  and  the  colonies  as 
granting  too  much  to  prerogative,  a  test  of  its  real  mod 
eration,  which  was  generally  characteristic  of  all  that 
he  ever  proposed.  The  colonies  were  not  yet  ripe  for 

7 


82  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

union — and  Franklin  in  proposing  it  was  twenty  years 
in  advance  of  his  age. 

Three  years  afterwards,  when  the  fierce  disputes  be 
tween  the  colonial  governor  and  the  Province  of  Penn 
sylvania  over  the  claims  of  the  proprietaries  that  their 
vast  estates  should  be  exempt  from  taxation  and  its  whole 
burden  thrown  upon  the  rest  of  the  people  whose  united 
wealth  scarcely  equalled  theirs,  seemed  hopeless  of  solu 
tion,  Franklin,  who  had  long  borne  a  conspicuous  part 
in  the  quarrel  on  the  side  of  the  colony,  was  sent  to 
England  to  maintain  the  popular  cause.  It  proved  to 
be  a  more  difficult  undertaking  than  even  he  had  antic 
ipated,  involved  negotiations  which  extended  over  a 
period  of  five  years,  and  ended  in  a  compromise  pro 
posed  by  him,  which  was  a  substantial  triumph  for  his 
people. 

This  first  protracted  stay  of  Franklin  in  England  was 
probably  the  happiest  of  his  life.  Times  had  changed 
since  his  first  visit  thirty  years  before  when,  as  a  journey 
man  printer,  he  had  lived  in  Little  Britain  on  three  and 
six  pence  a  week  and  thought  himself  lucky  to  get  that. 
All  doors  were  thrown  open  to  him,  and  he  was  wel 
comed  by  all  classes  as  one  of  the  master  spirits  of  the 
age.  He  reveled  in  the  meetings  of  the  Royal  Society 
and  enjoyed  the  personal  acquaintance  of  many  of  Eng 
land's  greatest  men,  such  as  Priestley,  Fothergill,  Gar- 
rick,  Lord  Shelbourne,  Lord  Stanhope,  Edmund  Burke, 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  83 

Adam  Smith  and  David  Hume,  Dr.  Robertson,  Lord 
Kames  and  David  Hartley  and  the  "  Good  Bishop  "  of 
St.  Asaph's,  Dr.  Shipley.  He  witnessed  the  coronation 
of  George  Third.  But  Pitt,  who  had  vastly  weightier 
things  on  his  mind  than  Franklin's  errand, — Pitt,  who 
afterwards  as  Lord  Chatham  proved  to  be  one  of  his 
most  stalwart  and  devoted  admirers  and  champions,  he 
found  wholly  inaccessible.  He  found  leisure  to  visit 
France,  Scotland  and  Holland,  and  to  make  himself 
master  of  European  politics — and  did  much  pamphlet 
eering  in  behalf  of  British  interests — for  at  that  time, 
like  all  his  countrymen,  he  was  a  most  loyal  and  devoted 
British  subject  and  gloried  in  the  prospects  of  the  future 
greatness  of  the  British  Empire.  When  Pratt,  after 
wards  Lord  Camden,  told  him  that  in  spite  of  their 
boasted  loyalty,  the  Americans  would  one  day  set  up  for 
independence,  he  answered  that  no  such  idea  was  ever 
entertained  by  the  Americans,  nor  will  any  such  ever 
enter  their  heads  unless  you  grossly  abuse  them.  "  Very 
true,"  replied  Pratt,  "  that  is  one  of  the  main  causes  I 
see  will  happen,  and  will  produce  the  event."  As  Par- 
ton  truly  says  of  him  at  this  time,  "  It  was  one  of  Frank 
lin's  most  cherished  opinions  that  the  greatness  of  Eng 
land  and  the  happiness  of  America  depended  chiefly 
upon  their  being  cordially  united.  The  country  which 
Franklin  loved  was  not  England  nor  America,  but  the 
great  and  glorious  Empire  which  these  two  united  to 


84  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

form."  He  was  a  true  imperialist  in  the  broadest  sense 
of  the  term  and  dreamed  of  the  future  prowess  of  the 
English  race  united  all  around  the  globe;  and  nobody 
would  have  rejoiced  more  proudly  than  he,  if  he  could 
have  looked  across  the  gulf  of  time  to  our  day  to  see 
that  race,  divided  into  two  great  branches,  but  united 
more  truly  and  securely  than  in  his  day,  standing  together 
with  double  power,  with  the  common  object  of  promot 
ing  liberty  and  order  and  peace,  not  only  in  their  own 
dominions  but  the  world  over,  which  to  him  was  always 
an  object  so  dear. 

Why  need  I  dwell  on  the  details  of  Franklin's  subse 
quent  political  career,  which  have  been  made  so  familiar 
to  everybody  in  connection  with  the  celebration  of  the 
two  hundredth  anniversary  of  his  birth? 

When  he  went  again  to  England  in  1764,  in  the  vain 
hope  of  preventing  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  he 
little  dreamed  that  he  would  be  detained  there  ten  years 
in  the  brave  and  constant  struggle  to  maintain  the  rights 
of  the  colonists,  to  keep  the  peace  between  them  and  the 
mother  country,  and  to  preserve  unbroken  the  union  of 
the  race  on  which  he  had  set  his  heart;  that  in  the  course 
of  this  struggle  he  would  incur  by  turns  the  hostility  and 
condemnation  of  both  branches  of  the  Empire,  and  that 
it  would  end  at  last  in  the  temporary  defeat  of  all  his 
hopes  and  aspirations. 

He  arrived  too  late  to  prevent  the  enactment  of  that 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  85 

disastrous  measure,  but  not  too  late  to  secure  its  imme 
diate  repeal.  The  two  most  remarkable  events  which 
mark  this,  his  last  visit  to  England,  occurred,  one  at  its 
beginning  in  1765,  and  the  other  at  its  close  in  1774,  his 
examination  before  the  House  of  Commons  and  his  hear 
ing  before  the  Privy  Council  in  the  Cockpit  where  he 
stood  as  a  mute  witness,  yes,  a  martyr,  to  the  wrongs  of 
his  countrymen,  and  vials  of  wrath  were  poured  upon 
his  devoted  head. 

Each  of  these  notable  occasions  exhibits  him  to  the 
best  advantage  as  a  statesman,  and  displays  most  sig 
nally  the  courage,  the  manliness  and  the  simplicity  of 
his  character. 

On  his  examination  before  the  House  of  Commons, 
with  absolute  calmness  and  serenity,  with  a  mastery  of 
his  subject  more  complete  than  any  other  man  on  either 
side  of  the  water  could  have  had,  with  a  simplicity  of 
speech  and  honesty  of  conviction  all  his  own,  he  dem 
onstrated  to  his  reluctant  audience  the  bitter  injustice 
and  inexpediency  of  the  fatal  enactment.  I  know  of  no 
other  piece  of  testimony  in  the  English  language  so 
remarkable,  and  some  of  his  answers  can  never  be  for 
gotten.  So  convincing  and  irresistible  was  his  evidence 
that  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  followed  immediately. 
His  testimony  before  the  Committee  was  closed  on  the 
thirteenth  day  of  February.  On  the  twenty-first  Gen 
eral  Conway  moved  for  leave  to  introduce  in  the  House 


86  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

of  Commons  a  Bill  to  Repeal,  which  was  carried.  The 
Bill  took  its  third  reading  in  that  House  on  the  fifth  of 
March.  It  passed  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  seventeenth 
and  on  the  eighteenth,  five  weeks  after  Franklin  had 
been  heard,  the  King  signed  the  Bill.  Franklin  cele 
brated  the  happy  event  in  his  own  simple  and  charac 
teristic  way  by  sending  his  wife  a  new  gown,  and  wrote 
her,  "As  the  Stamp  Act  is  at  length  repealed,  I  am  will 
ing  you  should  have  a  new  gown,  which  you  may  sup 
pose  I  did  not  send  sooner,  as  I  knew  you  would  not  like 
to  be  finer  than  your  neighbors  unless  in  a  gown  of  your 
own  spinning." 

In  the  ten  years  that  followed  he  labored  incessantly 
and  ardently  to  maintain  the  cause  of  union;  he  exercised 
a  powerful  influence  on  the  great  men  of  the  nation, 
which  was  afterwards  reflected  in  the  speeches  and  con 
duct  of  such  noble  advocates  of  the  American  cause  as 
Burke  and  Chatham  and  Fox  and  Conway,  in  whose 
favor  history  has  happily  reversed  contemporary  opin 
ion,  and  brought  all  Englishmen  to  accept  their  veiws. 

But  labor  as  he  would  and  hope  as  he  did,  it  became 
impossible  at  last  to  stem  the  tide  of  discord  that  was 
sweeping  both  nations  into  the  irrepressible  and  inevi 
table  conflict,  which  was  to  separate  them  for  the  time 
being,  only  to  bring  them  after  the  lapse  of  four  genera 
tions  into  newer  and  better  harmony  and  union. 

As   the  prolonged  contest  waxed  hotter  and  fiercer, 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  87 

while  Parliament  was  passing  its  obnoxious  measures, 
and  Boston  harbor  was  a  cauldron  of  cold  tea  un 
happily  taxed,  Franklin,  as  the  recognized  representa 
tive  of  all  the  colonies,  became  the  very  storm  center 
round  which  all  the  elements  of  discord  and  growing 
hatred  gathered  in  full  force,  and  was  often  the  target 
for  both  sides  to  attack.  In  England  the  ministry  re 
garded  him  as  too  much  of  an  American,  and  the  most 
ardent  patriots  at  home  denounced  him  as  too  much  of 
an  Englishman,  another  signal  proof  of  his  character 
istic  justice  and  moderation. 

At  last  the  tempest  burst  in  all  its  fury  upon  his  de 
voted  head,  and  I  regard  that  cruel  hour  in  the  Cockpit 
in  January,  1774,  as  the  grandest  and  most  heroic  of  his 
whole  public  life.  Scenes  of  great  triumph  and  glory 
were  in  store  for  him  in  the  future,  but  that  day  of  suf 
fering  and  humiliation  for  the  imputed  faults  of  all  his 
countrymen  surpassed  them  all  in  grandeur.  His  abso 
lute  self-command  and  unruffled  dignity  as  he  stood  there 
to  receive,  amid  the  jeers  of  the  Privy  Council,  that 
pitiless  storm  of  calumny  and  abuse, — an  attack  univer 
sally  condemned  to-day,  alike  in  England  and  America, 
—is  conclusive  evidence  of  his  heroism,  of  his  conscious 
innocence,  and  of  the  purity  and  nobility  of  his  char 
acter.  Let  me  repeat  here  a  word  which  I  spoke  of  him 
in  England,  and  which  seemed  to  receive  the  approval 
of  a  generous  people:  "  Upon  the  canvas  of  history  he 


88  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

stands  out  from  that  ignoble  scene  an  heroic  figure,  bear 
ing  silent  testimony  to  the  cause  of  the  colonists  for 
whose  sake  he  suffered — not  a  muscle  moved,  not  a  heart 
beat  quickened — and  casting  into  the  shade  of  lasting 
oblivion  all  those  who  joined  in  the  assault  upon  him." 

He  said  next  day  to  Dr.  Priestley  that  "  he  had  never 
before  been  so  sensible  of  the  power  of  a  good  con 
science;  for  that,  if  he  had  not  considered  the  thing  for 
which  he  had  been  so  much  insulted  as  one  of  the  best 
actions  of  his  life,  and  what  he  should  do  again  in  the 
same  circumstances,  he  could  not  have  supported  it." 

No  doubt  this  cruel  event,  which  at  once  became  the 
talk  of  the  town  and  country,  did  seriously  impair  his 
popularity  and  prestige  during  the  rest  of  his  stay  in 
London,  which  continued  for  another  year,  and  which 
he  steadily  devoted  to  the  hopeless  cause  of  conciliation. 
But  it  did  not  cost  him  a  single  one  of  his  great  and  true 
friends,  and  Lord  Chatham  spoke  and  acted  for  them  all 
shortly  afterwards  when,  on  the  occasion  of  a  great  de 
bate  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  American  affairs,  he  in 
vited  him  to  attend  in  the  House,  "  being  sure  that  his 
presence  in  that  day's  debate  would  be  of  more  service 
to  America  than  his  own,"  and  later,  in  answer  to  a  fling 
at  Franklin  by  another  noble  lord,  declared,  "  that  if  he 
were  first  minister  of  this  country,  and  had  the  care 
of  settling  this  momentous  business,  he  should  not  be 
ashamed  of  calling  to  his  assistance  a  person  so  perfectly 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  89 

acquainted  with  American  affairs  as  the  gentleman  al 
luded  to  and  so  injuriously  reflected  on;  one  whom  all 
Europe  held  in  high  estimation  for  his  knowledge  and 
wisdom,  and  ranked  with  our  Boyles  and  Newtons;  who 
was  an  honor,  not  to  the  English  nation  only,  'but  to 
human  nature." 

How  fortunate  Franklin  was  in  the  accidents  of  his 
life,  as  well  as  in  his  marvellous  gifts  and  happy  tem 
perament!  Scarcely  had  he  landed  on  his  return  from 
England,  which  he  was  never  again  to  revisit,  when  the 
proud  and  grateful  people  of  Pennsylvania  made  him 
one  of  their  delegates  to  the  Second  Congress,  to  meet 
next  day  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  just  three  weeks  after 
Lexington,  where  the  colonists  had  unsheathed  the  sword 
and  thrown  away  the  scabbard — and  from  that  day 
Franklin  was  as  steadfast  a  champion  of  independence 
as  he  had  before  been  of  conciliation.  He  had  the  good 
fortune  to  join  in  the  election  of  Washington  as  com- 
mander-in-chief,  between  whom  and  himself  from  the 
time  of  Braddock's  defeat,  twenty-one  years  before,  and 
his  own  death,  fifteen  years  afterwards,  the  closest  friend 
ship  and  mutual  confidence  prevailed;  and  then  he  had 
the  great  honor  to  be  one  of  the  Committee  of  Five 
elected  by  ballot  to  draft  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence.  Let  no  man  detract  by  a  word  from  the  glory 
of  Jefferson  in  being  the  sole  author  of  that  immortal 
instrument.  The  amendments  made  by  Franklin  and 


90  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

Adams  were  only  verbal,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
their  fame  and  weight  of  character  added  to  its  dignity 
and  general  acceptance.  And  who  will  deny  the  happy 
merit  of  Franklin's  share  in  the  signing,  when  he  antic 
ipated  Lincoln's  faculty  of  relieving  the  most  solemn  and 
critical  moments  by  a  timely  jest,  and  when  Hancock, 
taking  up  the  pen  to  sign  first,  declared,  "We  must  be 
unanimous;  there  must  be  no  pulling  different  ways;  we 
must  all  hang  together,"  Franklin  made  the  reply  which 
will  live  in  history  as  one  of  its  happiest  jests:  "  Yes,  we 
must  all  hang  together,  or  assuredly  we  shall  all  hang 
separately,"  which  did  in  felicitous  phrase  express  the 
sober  truth  at  that  critical  hour. 

But  it  was  one  thing  to  declare  our  independence  and 
quite  another  to  make  that  declaration  good,  and  unless 
we  could  obtain  foreign  aid  and  alliance,  the  cause  of 
the  revolted  colonies  was  desperate  indeed.  Franklin 
was  the  one  man  in  all  the  world  who  could  accomplish 
this,  if  indeed  it  were  possible  at  all,  and  I  need  not  tell 
you  how  perfectly,  against  what  fearful  odds,  under  what 
mighty  difficulties,  he  did  accomplish  it.  Without  Sara 
toga  we  should  not  have  had  the  Alliance.  Without 
Yorktown  we  should  have  waited  long  for  the  Treaty  of 
Peace,  but  without  Franklin,  and  Franklin  in  Paris, 
those  great  treaties  would  have  been  far  less  effective 
and  full  of  benefit  to  America  and  to  mankind  than  they 
were. 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  91 

Although  past  seventy  and  already  beginning  to  feel 
the  weight  of  years  and  infirmities  when  he  accepted  the 
invitation  of  Congress  as  an  irresistible  command  to  go 
to  Paris  on  his  glorious  mission,  his  labors  in  the  next 
nine  years  were  prodigious,  the  difficulties  which  he  en 
countered  and  sacrifices  to  which  he  submitted,  were 
almost  incredible;  and  his  amazing  success  still  remains 
one  of  the  wonders  of  history. 

France  was  already  crippled  in  her  finances,  wholly 
unable  to  afford  the  liberal  aid  which,  with  generous 
sympathy,  she  lavished  upon  us,  in  response  to  his  urgent 
and  tactful  appeals,  and  was  already  suffering  under 
those  heavy  burdens  and  evil  domestic  conditions,  which 
before  the  close  of  the  century  brought  her  to  the  verge 
of  ruin,  and  sure  to  be  forced  into  a  wasting  war  if  she 
really  came  effectively  to  our  rescue.  But  the  enthu 
siastic  order  of  her  mercurial  people  for  the  cause  of 
liberty  enabled  Franklin  to  overcome  all  obstacles,  and 
to  win  her  to  our  sorely  needed  support. 

His  world-wide  fame  and  familiar  personality  had 
paved  the  way  for  his  reception.  His  arrival  was  the 
signal  for  a  tremendous  outburst  of  popular  enthusiasm, 
that  met  with  a  hearty  response  throughout  Europe, 
which  included  the  fashionable  world  and  the  philoso 
phers  and  scholars  and  statesmen  as  well  as  the  populace. 

"  His  virtues,  and  his  renown,"  says  Lacretelle,  "  nego 
tiated  for  him,  and  before  the  second  year  of  his  mission 


92  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

had  expired,  no  one  conceived  it  possible  to  refuse  fleets 
and  armies  to  the  countrymen  of  Franklin." 

The  German,  Schlosser,  says: 

"  Franklin's  appearance  in  the  Paris  salons,  even  before 
he  began  to  negotiate,  was  an  event  of  great  importance 
to  the  whole  of  Europe.  Paris  at  that  time  set  the  fash 
ion  for  the  civilized  world,  and  the  admiration  of  Frank 
lin,  carried  to  a  degree  approaching  folly,  produced  a 
remarkable  effect  on  the  fashionable  circles  of  Paris. 
His  dress,  the  simplicity  of  his  personal  appearance,  the 
friendly  meekness  of  the  old  man,  and  the  apparent 
humility  of  the  Quaker  procured  for  freedom  a  mass  of 
votaries  among  the  Court  circles." 

But  all  this  incense  never  turned  his  head,  which  was 
always  clear  and  level  for  the  important  business  which 
he  had  in  hand  and  of  which  he  never  lost  sight.  In 
view  of  the  constant  obstacles  which  prevented  and  hin 
dered  his  communication  with  Congress,  he  was  in  his 
own  person  the  American  government  in  Europe,  and 
obliged  to  act  not  merely  as  an  Ambassador,  but  as  a 
War  Department,  a  Treasury  Department,  a  Navy  De 
partment,  a  Prize  Court,  a  Bureau  for  the  Relief  and 
Exchange  of  Prisoners,  a  Consul,  and  a  dealer  in  cargoes 
which  came  from  America.  He  procured  large  and  in 
creasing  loans  from  the  almost  exhausted  treasury  of 
France,  and  when,  at  last,  peace  became  possible,  he  took 
an  active  and  the  leading  part  in  the  negotiation  of  the 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  93 

Peace  Treaty,  which  recognized  forever  the  indepen 
dence  of  his  country  and  secured  for  the  time  being  the 
peace  of  the  three  great  nations  concerned  and  of  the 
world  at  large.  The  Treaty  of  Alliance  was  all  his  own, 
but  in  the  Treaty  of  Peace  he  had  the  great  advantage 
of  the  cooperation  of  John  Adams  and  John  Jay,  and 
America  will  never  cease  to  be  grateful  for  the  combined 
labors  and  wisdom  of  these  great  patriots,  who  thus 
brought  about  the  consummation  of  our  liberties,  and  to 
France,  without  whose  triumphant  assistance  that  con 
summation  might  have  been  postponed  for  half  a  cen 
tury. 

It  would  take  many  volumes  to  describe  the  activity, 
the  brilliancy  and  success  of  Franklin's  career  in  France. 
Here  he  displayed  on  the  highest  plane  they  have  ever 
reached  the  best  qualities  of  American  statesmanship  and 
diplomacy.  His  great  brain,  always  at  work  on  themes 
that  concerned  the  welfare  of  his  country  and  his  fellow 
men;  his  capacious  heart,  which  made  him  so  human 
and  so  interesting  to  all  mankind;  his  untiring  industry 
and  never-failing  tact;  his  genial  wit  and  the  sunshine  of 
his  spirit;  his  absolute  truthfulness  which  led  him  to  say 
always  what  he  meant  and  to  mean  what  he  said;  his 
hope  that  never  failed;  his  contempt  of  the  mere  forms 
and  husks  of  diplomatic  intercourse,  going  always  straight 
to  the  point  and  sticking  to  it;  his  self-taught  literary 
faculty  and  charming  style;  and  his  universal  knowledge 


94  CHOATE:  FRANKLIN 

of  the  world  of  human  affairs,  have  made  him  at  once 
the  model  and  the  despair  of  all  later  diplomatists. 

And,  finally,  how  transcendently  fortunate  were  his 
last  years!  Returning  at  last,  honored  of  all  men,  to  his 
dear  old  home  in  Philadelphia,  broken  in  health  by  the 
exhaustive  labors  of  his  eighth  decade,  but  yet  with 
strength  and  courage  sufficient  to  serve  his  fellow  citizens 
of  Pennsylvania  as  their  president  and,  already  in  his 
ninth  decade,  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  Convention 
that  formed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  sitting 
five  hours  a  day  there  for  four  summer  months,  taking 
a  potential  part  in  their  debates,  too  weak  and  ill  to 
stand  and  deliver  his  speeches  but  writing  them  out  care 
fully  for  others  to  read  for  him,  and  contributing  the 
ripe  fruits  of  his  wisdom  and  patriotism  to  the  great 
result. 

When  that  great  compact  of  compromises  and  conces 
sions  was  finished,  it  suited  no  member  of  the  Convention 
exactly,  so  much  had  each  yielded  of  his  own  opinions 
to  meet  the  views  of  the  rest.  But  Franklin,  the  father 
of  them  all,  led  the  way  in  insisting  upon  the  unanimous 
and  unconditional  signature  of  all  the  delegates  to  the 
matchless  instrument  of  government. 

"  I  consent,  sir,"  he  said,  "  to  this  Constitution  because 
I  expect  no  better,  and  because  I  am  not  sure  that  it 
is  not  the  best.  The  opinions  I  have  had  of  its  errors  I 
sacrifice  to  the  public  good.  I  have  never  whispered  a 


AS  STATESMAN  AND  DIPLOMATIST  95 

syllable  of  them  abroad.     Within  these  walls  they  were 
born  and  here  they  shall  die." 

So  long  as  this  sublime  spirit  of  patriotism  and  mutual 
concession  shall  govern  the  counsels  and  conduct  of  our 
rulers  and  statesmen,  that  sun  which  he  saw  behind  the 
chair  of  Washington  in  Independence  Hall,  as  they  stood 
before  him  signing  our  Magna  Charta,  and  which 
Franklin  declared  then  and  there  to  be  the  rising  sun, 
will  continue  in  its  ascendent  course.  But  when  this 
spirit  decays  the  sun  of  America  will  begin  to  set. 


PRESENTATIO 


7 


T:-:Z 


_-.z^   ;? 


3V 


r       ie  A- 


tc  V^ixii.   T^ 


IL  ±t  r~   :f  Arnl   •  y.^ 
Serretirr  ::  5i£tr  sb-i'iild  ciist  r:  re  smirk  2  —  >f-~^'  t: 


r"'r~~  •~-^-^-.     ^  •» 

a    -      _-        _  ^     -TJ      _^  -        ^    - 

;  -  -  -  -,- 

r-".*_    -*  —    i.  ---    *  -- 

r»  Pr^ider:  .f 


»,  —      .     .  ».  —     - 


^i^i  SiL3«.  n  rx 


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.     — 

- 

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I  »      _    _       ^  .f      -^  _ 


98  ROOT:  PRESENTATION 

side  literature,  science,  and  philosophy  attend,  while 
history  makes  her  record.  The  material  of  the  medal  is 
American  gold,  as  was  Franklin. 

For  itself  this  would  be  but  a  small  dividend  upon  the 
investments  which  the  ardent  Beaumarchais  made  for 
the  mythical  firm  of  Hortalez  &  Company.  It  would 
be  but  scanty  interest  on  the  never-ending  loans  yielded 
by  the  steady  friendship  of  de  Vergennes  to  the  dis 
tressed  appeals  of  Franklin.  It  is  not  appreciable  even 
as  a  gift  when  one  recalls  what  La  Fayette,  Rocham- 
beau,  de  Grasse  and  their  gallant  comrades,  were  to  us, 
and  what  they  did  for  us;  when  one  sees  in  historical 
perspective,  the  great  share  of  France  in  securing  Amer 
ican  independence,  looming  always  larger  from  our  own 
point  of  view,  in  comparison  with  what  we  did  for 
ourselves. 

But  take  it  for  your  country  as  a  token  that  with  all 
the  changing  manners  of  the  passing  years,  with  all  the 
vast  and  welcome  influx  of  new  citizens  from  all  the 
countries  of  the  earth,  Americans  have  not  forgotten 
their  fathers  and  their  fathers'  friends. 

Know  by  it  that  we  have  in  America  a  sentiment  for 
France;  and  a  sentiment,  enduring  among  a  people,  is 
a  great  and  substantial  fact  to  be  reckoned  with. 

We  feel  a  little  closer  to  you  of  France  because  of 
what  you  were  to  Franklin.  Before  the  resplendence 


OF  GOLD  MEDAL  TO  FRANCE  99 

and  charm  of  your  country's  history — when  all  the 
world  does  homage  to  your  literature,  your  art,  your 
exact  science,  your  philosophic  thought — we  smile  with 
pleasure,  for  we  feel,  if  we  do  not  say:  "  Yes,  these  are 
old  friends  of  ours;  they  were  very  fond  of  our  Ben 
Franklin  and  he  of  them." 

Made  more  appreciative,  perhaps,  by  what  France 
did  for  us  when  this  old  philosopher  came  to  you,  a 
stranger,  bearing  the  burdens  of  our  early  poverty  and 
distress,  we  feel  that  the  enormous  value  of  France  to 
civilization  should  lead  every  lover  of  mankind,  in 
whatever  land,  earnestly  to  desire  the  peace,  the  pros 
perity,  the  permanence,  and  the  unchecked  develop 
ment,  of  your  national  life. 

We,  at  least,  can  not  feel  otherwise;  for  what  you 
were  to  Franklin,  we  would  be — we  are — to  you:  always 
true  and  loyal  friends. 

RECEPTION  OF  THE  FRANKLIN  MEDAL 
BY  His  EXCELLENCY,  M.  J.  J.  JUSSERAND, 

The  French  Ambassador 

On  behalf  of  the  French  Republic,  with  feelings  of 
deepest  gratitude,  I  receive  the  gift  offered  to  my  coun 
try,  this  masterful  portrait  of  Franklin,  which  a  law  of 
Congress  ordered  to  be  made  and  which  is  signed  with 
the  name,  twice  famous,  of  Saint-Gaudens. 


100  JUSSERAND:    REPLY 

Everything  in  such  a  present  powerfully  appeals  to  a 
French  mind.  It  represents  a  man  ever  venerated  and 
admired  in  my  country — the  scientist,  the  philosopher, 
the  inventor,  the  leader  of  men,  the  one  who  gave  to 
France  her  first  notion  of  what  true  Americans  really 
were.  "  When  you  were  in  France,"  the  Marquis  de 
Chastellux  wrote  later  to  Franklin,  "  there  was  no.  need 
to  praise  the  Americans.  We  had  only  to  say:  Look; 
here  is  their  representative." 

The  gift  is  offered  in  this  town  of  Philadelphia  where 
there  exists  a  hall  the  very  name  of  which  is  especially 
dear  to  every  American  and  every  French  heart — the 
Hall  of  Independence — and  at  a  gathering  of  a  society 
founded  "  for  promoting  useful  knowledge,"  which  has 
remained  true  to  its  principle,  worthy  of  its  founder, 
and  which  numbers  many  whose  fame  is  equally  great 
on  both  sides  of  the  ocean. 

I  receive  it  at  the  hands  of  one  of  the  best  servants  of 
the  State  which  this  great  country  ever  produced,  no  less 
admired  at  the  head  of  her  diplomacy  now  than  he  was 
lately  at  the  head  of  her  Army,  one  of  those  rare  men 
who  prove  the  right  man,  whatever  be  the  place.  You 
have  listened  to  his  words,  and  you  will  agree  with  me 
when  I  say  that  I  shall  have  two  golden  gifts  to  forward 
to  my  Government:  the  medal  and  Secretary  Root's 
speech. 


ON  RECEIVING  FRANKLIN  MEDAL  101 

The  work  of  art  offered  by  America  to  France  will  be 
sent  to  Paris  to  be  harbored  in  that  unique  museum,  our 
Museum  of  Medals,  where  French  history  is,  so  to  say, 
written  in  gold  and  bronze,  from  the  fifteenth  century 
up  to  now,  without  any  ruler,  any  great  event,  being 
omitted.  Some  of  the  American  past  is  also  written 
there:  that  period  so  glorious  when  the  histories  of 
France  and  America  were  the  same  history,  when  first 
rose  a  nation  that  has  never  since  ceased  to  rise. 

There,  awaiting  your  gift,  are  preserved  medals 
struck  in  France  at  the  very  time  of  the  events,  in  honor 
of  Washington,  to  commemorate  the  relief  of  Boston  in 
1776;  a  medal  to  John  Paul  Jones  in  honor  of  his  naval 
campaign  of  1779;  another  medal  representing  Wash 
ington,  and  one  representing  General  Howard,  to  com 
memorate  the  battle  of  Cowpens  in  1781  ;  one  to  cele 
brate  the  peace  of  1783  and  the  freedom  of  the  thirteen 
States;  one  of  La  Fayette;  one  of  Suffren,  who  fought 
so  valiantly  on  distant  seas  for  the  same  cause  as  Wash 
ington;  one,  lastly,  of  Franklin  himself,  dated  1784, 
bearing  the  famous  inscription  composed  in  honor  of  the 
great  man  by  Turgot:  "  Eripuit  ccelo  fulmen,  sceptrum- 
que  tyrannis." 

My  earnest  hope  is  that  one  of  the  next  medals  to  be 
struck  and  added  to  the  series  will  be  one  to  commemo 
rate  the  resurrection  of  that  great  town  which  now,  at 


JUSSERAXD:  REPLY 

this  present  hour,  agonizes  by  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 
The  disaster  of  San  Francisco  has  awakened  a  feeling 
of  deepest  grief  in  even-  French  heart,  and  a  feeling  of 
admiration,  too,  for  the  manliness  displayed  bv  the  pop 
ulation  during  this  awful  trial.  So  that  what  will  be 
commemorated  will  not  be  only  the  American  nation's 
sorrow,  but  her  unfailing  heroism  and  energy. 

Now  your  magnificent  gift  will  be  added  to  the  col 
lection  in  Paris:  it  will  be  there  in  its  proper  place. 
The  thousands  who  visit  that  Museum  will  be  reminded 
by  it  that  the  ties  happily  formed  long  ago  are  neither 
broken  nor  distended,  and  they  will  contemplate  with  a 
veneration  equal  to  that  of  their  ancestors  the  feature? 
of  one  whom  Mirabeau  justly  called  one  of  the  heroes 
of  mankind. 


FRANKLIN'S  RESEARCHES  IX  ELECTRICITY 
Bv  PROFESSOR  EDWAKD  L.  NICHOLS 

[Add ret*  delivered  in  Wjdjert-jxxio  Hall,  Wednekdar,  April  il.] 

TO  estimate  justly  the  achievements  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  in  electricity  it  is  necessary  to  consider 
briefly  the  state  of  that  science  at  the  time  when  he 
began  his  experiments.  It  was  known  at  a  very  early 
day  that  certain  substances  such  as  amber  when  rubbed 
acquire  the  power  of  attracting  light  bodies,  but  no  con 
siderable  advance  beyond  the  observations  recorded  by 
Thales  600  B.  C.  and  Theophrastus  300  B.  C.  appears 
to  have  been  made  up  to  the  time  when  Gilbert  began 
his  work  upon  this  subject  about  1600.  Gilbert  greatly 
extended  the  list  of  bodies  electrified  by  friction.  He 
found  various  precious  stones  and  many  other  substances 
such  as  sulphur,  resin,  and  glass  to  possess  this  property. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  Boyle 
added  something  to  Gilbert's  observations.  He  discov 
ered  that  the  attraction  between  electrical  bodies  oc 
curred  in  vacuo  as  well  as  through  air  at  ordinary  pres 
sures,  and  that  an  electrified  body  was  attracted  by  as 
well  as  being  capable  of  attracting  other  bodies.  He 
also  studied  what  we  now  call  the  tri bo-luminescence  of 

(103) 


104  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

diamonds,  a  phenomenon  which  he  supposed  to  be  con 
nected  in  some  way  with  electrification.  Wall,1  about 
1670,  observed  the  sparks  from  amber  when  rubbed 
with  wool  and,  what  is  remarkable,  compared  the  noise 
and  light  produced  to  that  of  thunder  and  lightning. 
Newton2  also  paid  some  attention  to  electrical  phenom 
ena,  and  he  was  perhaps  the  first  to  observe  electrostatic 
attraction  through  a  solid  dielectric.  In  his  "  Optics  " 
he  put  forth  the  hypothesis  of  an  elastic  fluid  emitted  by 
electrified  bodies  and  capable  of  penetrating  solids  such 
as  glass. 

The  most  notable  electrical  discoveries  of  the  seven 
teenth  century  were,  however,  due  to  Otto  von  Guericke, 
the  inventor  of  the  air  pump,  whose  experiments  ex 
tended  from  1670  to  1700.  He  made  an  electrical  ma 
chine  consisting  of  a  globe  of  sulphur  mounted  on  an 
axle  and  rubbed  with  the  hand.  He  discovered  the 
repulsion  between  charged  bodies  and  found  that  bodies 
could  be  electrified  without  contact  by  bringing  them 
into  the  field  of  a  body  previously  charged.  He  de 
scribed  the  sound  of  the  electric  discharge  and  compared 
the  spark  to  the  light  emitted  by  sugar  when  pounded 
in  the  dark.3  The  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  is 
likewise  notable  as  the  period  during  which  the  members 

'Wall:  Phil.  Trans.     1670. 

2  Newton:  Phil.  Trans.     1675. 

'Priestley:  History  of  Electricity,  Vol.  I,  Page  u. 


RESEARCHES  IN  ELECTRICITY  105 

of  the  Italian  Academy  "  del  Cimento "  began  their 
studies  of  electricity.  Among  other  things  they  observed 
the  discharging  power  of  flames  afterwards  rediscovered 
by  Franklin. 

The  earliest  investigations  of  the  eighteenth  century 
were  those  of  Hauksbee  who  studied  the  electric  glow 
in  vacuo  over  mercury,  a  phenomenon  first  observed  by 
Picard  in  1670,  and  noted  the  great  difference  between 
the  discharge  in  vacuo  and  that  occurring  at  ordinary 
pressures.  Hauksbee  made  a  machine  having  a  revolving 
globe  of  glass  rubbed  with  the  hand. 

After  Hauksbee  there  was  a  lull  in  electrical  interest 
which  lasted  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Then  came 
the  period  of  intense  activity  which  culminated  in  Frank 
lin's  work.  The  revival  appears  to  have  had  its  origin 
in  England  about  1728,  at  which  time  Stephen  Grey  of 
London  began  a  remarkable  series  of  experiments  in 
association  with  a  friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wheeler.  They 
found  that  such  substances  as  hair,  silk,  linen,  wool, 
paper  and  leather  could  be  electrified  by  friction  and 
discovered  in  1729  the  conduction  of  the  charge  from 
an  electrified  body  to  neighboring  bodies.  In  attempt 
ing  to  transmit  the  electrification  along  a  linen  thread 
they  found  it  necessary  to  insulate  the  line  by  means 
of  silk  cords,  and  were  thus  led  to  a  recognition  of  the 
distinction  between  conductors  and  non-conductors.  They 
succeeded  ultimately  in  transmitting  the  electric  charge 


io6  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

over  a  line  of  pack  thread  to  a  distance  of  765  feet,  and 
having  thus  learned  how  to  conduct  the  effect  to  a  dis 
tance  they  experimented  upon  the  electrification  of  all 
sorts  of  bodies,  such  as  a  load-stone,  a  red-hot  poker,  a 
chicken,  a  soap  bubble,  a  boy,  suspended  from  the  end 
of  their  line.  They  also  compared  in  a  rough  way  the 
electrification  of  a  solid  with  that  of  a  hollow  body  of 
same  material  and  found  them  as  nearly  as  they  could 
judge  to  be  alike.  In  1734  Grey  and  Wheeler,  working 
in  a  dark  room,  observed  the  brush  discharge  from  a 
suspended  metal  rod  which  had  been  electrified,  and 
made  some  observations  upon  the  electric  discharge. 
Speaking  of  electricity  that  year,  Grey  says:  "  It  seems 
to  be  of  the  same  nature  as  thunder  and  lightning."  f 

In  1733  Charles  Francis  DuFay,  a  retired  army  officer, 
and  member  of  the  Paris  Academy,  took  up  the  study 
of  electricity.  He  repeated  many  of  the  experiments 
of  Grey  and  others,  discovered  the  use  of  glass  as  an 
insulator  for  his  lines  and  found  that  the  thread  con 
ducted  better  when  wet.  DuFay  announced  the  dis 
covery  of  two  kinds  of  electricity,  vitreous  and  resinous, 
and  the  law  of  the  repulsion  of  like  and  the  attraction 
of  unlike  charges.  He  was  assisted  in  his  experiments 
by  the  Abbe  Nollet,  who  became  subsequently  one  of 
the  most  prolific  writers  of  the  time  upon  the  subject  of 
electricity. 


RESEARCHES  IN  ELECTRICITY  107 

About  1740  electricity  began  to  receive  serious  atten 
tion  in  Germany,  where  the  frictional  machine  of  Hauks- 
bee  was  revived  by  Professors  Hausen  and  Winkler  of 
Leipzig.  Winkler  is  said  to  have  first  substituted  a 
rubbing  pad  or  cushion  for  the  hand.  Gordon  of  Erfurt 
introduced  the  use  of  a  cylinder  instead  of  the  glass 
globe.  Boze  of  Wittenberg  further  perfected  the  elec 
trical  machine  by  the  addition  of  a  conductor  of  metal 
insulated  by  silk  threads. 

These  improvements  in  electrical  apparatus  made  it 
possible  to  generate  charges  of  much  greater  quantity 
than  before  and  to  perform  many  new  and  surprising 
experiments,  such  as  the  ignition  of  volatile  substances 
and  the  killing  of  small  animals  by  means  of  the  spark, 
the  bleaching  of  colors,  the  ringing  of  bells  and  the  pro 
duction  of  various  mechanical  motions.  Brilliant  dis 
charges  in  vacuum  tubes  were  produced  by  Grummert, 
who  even  proposed  to  make  use  of  this  form  of  light  in 
mines.  These  demonstrations  soon  began  to  attract  not 
only  scientific  men  but  the  general  public.  Prizes  were 
offered  by  the  various  learned  societies  and  public  exhi 
bitions  were  given. 

In  1745  the  so-called  Leyden  jar  was  discovered  by 
von  Kleist,1  dean  of  the  cathedral  in  Camin  and  a  few 
months  later,  independently,  by  Cuneus  of  Leyden.  The 

'Hoppe:  Geschichte  der  Elektricitat,  p.  18. 


io8  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

extraordinary  effects  obtained  with  this  simple  device 
were  of  a  character  to  further  appeal  to  the  imagination 
and  to  intensify  public  interest  in  electricity.  Experi 
mentation  became  the  popular  fad  of  the  time;  the  elec 
trical  machine  and  its  accessories  were  regarded  as  a 
necessary  part  of  the  equipment  of  people  of  fashion. 
Electricity  became  for  the  time  being  the  amusement  of 
the  leisure  class  as  well  as  the  subject  of  study  for 
savants.  The  feature  which  especially  excited  interest 
was  doubtless  the  violence  of  the  shock  felt  by  a  person 
through  whose  body  the  discharge  of  a  Leyden  jar  took 
place  and  the  fact  that  the  effect  could  be  imparted  to 
a  number  of  individuals  simultaneously.  The  Abbe 
Nollet  demonstrated  this  fact  by  two  famous  experi 
ments.  In  the  first  instance  he  imparted  the  shock  of 
a  Leyden  jar  to  180  of  the  King's  guards  for  the  edifi 
cation  of  Louis  XV  and  subsequently  to  the  monks  of 
the  Carthusian  monastery  in  Paris;  for  which  purpose 
all  the  members  of  that  great  establishment  formed  a 
line  nine  hundred  toises,  or  about  an  English  mile,  in 
length. 

The  effect  upon  the  public  mind  of  the  discovery  of 
the  Leyden  jar  may  be  compared  with  that  produced 
in  our  own  time  by  the  announcement  of  the  X-rays,  of 
liquid  air,  or  of  radium;  but  the  interest  excited  was 
much  more  general  and  more  intense  and,  owing  to  the 
simple  nature  of  the  apparatus  necessary  for  repeating 


IVERSI 


RESEARCHES  IN  ELECTRICITY  109 

the  experiments,  a  relatively  larger  number  of  would-be 
investigators  took  the  subject  up.  Discoveries  were  an 
nounced  from  day  to  day,  and  all  sorts  of  theories,  many 
of  them  more  or  less  obscure,  were  promulgated. 

The  excitement  over  electricity  appears  to  have 
reached  the  American  colonies  in  the  spring  of  1747. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  in  the  first  of  the  famous  series  of 
letters  in  which  his  experiments  on  electricity  are  de 
scribed,  writes  to  Peter  Collinson,  Esq.,  of  London  as 

follows: 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  March  28,  1747. 

"  Sir:  —  Your  kind  present  of  an  electric  tube  with 
directions  for  using  it  has  put  several  of  us  on  making 
electrical  experiments  in  which  we  have  observed  some 
particular  phenomena  that  we  look  upon  to  be  new.  I 
shall  therefore  communicate  them  to  you  in  my  next, 
though  possibly  they  may  not  be  new  to  you,  as  among 
the  numbers  daily  employed  in  those  experiments  on 
your  side  of  the  water,  'tis  probable  some  one  or  other 
has  hit  on  the  same  observations.  For  my  own  part  I 
never  was  before  engaged  in  any  study  that  so  totally 
engrossed  my  attention  and  my  time  as  this  has  lately 
done;  for  what  with  making  experiments  when  I  can 
be  alone,  and  repeating  them  to  my  friends  and  acquaint 
ances,  who,  from  the  novelty  of  the  thing,  come  con 
tinually  in  crowds  to  see  them,  I  have,  during  some 
months  past,  had  little  leisure  for  anything  else.  I  am, 

etc.  "  B.  FRANKLIN." 


no  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

Such  was  the  introduction  of  our  illustrious  country 
man  to  the  science  of  electricity.  Franklin  was  at  this 
time  forty  years  of  age,  a  prosperous  citizen  of  Phila 
delphia,  self-educated  and  self-made.  Like  many  of 
his  contemporaries  similarly  situated  in  Europe,  he  took 
up  the  subject  as  an  amusement  or  hobby.  Unlike  them, 
however,  he  labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  residence 
in  a  remote  colonial  community.  He  was  of  necessity 
imperfectly  acquainted  with  previous  work  in  electricity 
and  was  compelled  to  rediscover  for  himself  many  of 
the  things  which  had  already  been  observed  in  Europe. 

That  under  these  circumstances  Franklin  should  have 
become  the  foremost  electrician  of  his  time,  and  that  the 
series  of  letters  in  which  he  communicated  his  observa 
tions  and  theories  should  have  been  received  with  accla 
mation  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  and  should  have 
been  translated  into  all  the  principal  languages  of  Eu 
rope  is  the  more  remarkable.  The  extraordinary  suc 
cess  of  his  book  with  the  greater  public  in  Europe  is 
doubtless  due  in  great  part  to  its  admirable  literary  qual 
ities.  The  epigrammatic  terseness,  the  clearness  and  sim 
plicity  of  style,  the  naive  frankness  and  inimitable  humor 
which  have  earned  for  Franklin  an  imperishable  place 
in  literature  characterize  these  pages  and  give  them 
life.  Even  now,  after  a  century  and  a  half,  although 
he  can  tell  us  little  about  electricity  that  is  not  familiar, 
we  read  his  pages  with  pleasure  and  derive  from  them 


RESEARCHES  IN  ELECTRICITY  m 

the  satisfaction  which  comes  only  from  the  contempla 
tion  of  a  masterpiece. 

Although  Franklin  was  without  scientific  training  in 
the  modern  sense,  it  was  his  life-long  habit  to  observe 
the  phenomena  of  nature  and  to  reason  about  them.  His 
native  ability  was  so  unusual  as  to  compensate  for  his 
lack  of  an  academic  education  and  to  fit  him  in  rare 
degree  for  scientific  pursuits. 

Franklin's  earliest  achievement  in  electricity  was  his 
discovery  of  the  power  of  a  pointed  conductor  to  dis 
charge  an  electrified  body  when  brought  near  the  same, 
and  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  charge  upon  a  con 
ductor  to  which  it  was  attached.  Of  this  property  he 
later  made  application  in  the  lightning  rod.  During 
the  summer  of  1847  he  performed  a  series  of  experi 
ments  with  the  Leyden  jar  which  were  described  with 
admirable  brevity  and  lucidity  in  his  third  letter  to 
Peter  Collinson,  dated  September  first  of  that  year. 
Nothing  could  serve  better  to  demonstrate  the  qualities 
of  Franklin  as  a  man  of  science  than  this  little  inves 
tigation  which  occupied  but  a  few  weeks.  The  eleven 
experiments,  to  each  of  which  a  single  brief  paragraph 
is  given,  cover  the  essential  phenomena  of  the  condenser. 
As  statements  of  fact  they  will  stand  almost  without 
revision  or  amendment  at  the  present  day. 

Upon  this  device  "  M.  Muschenb rock's  wonderful 
bottle,"  as  Franklin  called  it  in  his  third  letter, — of  the 


ii2  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

earlier  experiments  of  von  Kleist,  Gralath  and  Winkler, 
he  appears  to  have  had  no  knowledge — the  scientific 
attention  of  all  Europe  had  been  focused  for  more  than 
a  year,  but  it  remained  for  Franklin  to  demonstrate  ex 
plicitly  that  the  inside  and  outside  of  a  jar  are  oppositely 
charged  and  that  the  charges  reside  in  the  dielectric  and 
not  in  the  coatings.  He  also  showed  that  a  jar  cannot 
be  discharged  by  contact  with  either  coating  separately, 
but  only  by  providing  a  conducting  circuit  between 
them;  that  a  jar  cannot  be  charged  without  grounding 
one  coating  or  in  some  way  removing  from  one  coating 
a  charge  equal  but  opposite  in  sign  to  that  introduced 
into  the  other,  and  that  a  jar  may  be  charged  by  the 
outer  coating  provided  the  inner  meantime  be  grounded. 

He  devised  the  cascade  arrangement  by  which  a  num 
ber  of  jars  can  be  charged  or  discharged  in  series  and 
made  condensers  of  glass  plates  with  coatings  of  lead- 
such  as  are  still  known  as  Franklin  plates.  In  this,  as 
he  himself  soon  learned,  he  had,  however,  been  antici 
pated  by  both  Smeaton  and  Bevis  in  England.  He  also 
magnetized  and  demagnetized  steel  needles  and  even  re 
versed  their  polarity  by  means  of  the  discharge  current 
from  his  condensers. 

Having  established  to  his  satisfaction  the  principles 
of  action  of  Leyden  jars,  Franklin,  in  whom  the  inven 
tive  spirit  was  native  and  irrepressible,  constructed  two 
forms  of  electric  motor  driven  by  means  of  the  energy 


RESEARCHES  IN  ELECTRICITY  113 

thus  stored.  Simple  mechanical  devices  operated  by 
the  Hauksbee  machine,  such  as  the  electric  chimes  and 
the  tourniquet,  there  were  already,  but  Franklin's  motors 
were  no  mere  modifications  of  these.  The  first,  called 
the  electric  jack,  was  driven  by  the  attractive  and  repel- 
lant  forces  of  two  oppositely  charged  Leyden  jars. 
These  were  placed  diametrically  opposite  and  just  out 
side  the  periphery  of  a  wheel  having  some  thirty  spokes 
of  glass  at  the  ends  of  which  brass  thimbles  were 
mounted.  The  wheel  revolved  upon  a  vertical  axis  and 
the  thimbles  were  successively  attracted,  charged  and 
repelled  as  they  passed  each  jar.  The  power  developed 
was  considerable,  being  sufficient  to  maintain  a  speed  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  turns  a  minute  even  when  loaded  with 
one  hundred  Spanish  dollars.  Franklin  deemed  it  ca 
pable  of  carrying  a  large  fowl  "  with  a  motion  fit  for 
roasting  "  if  set  up  before  a  fire.1 

The  other  motor,  Franklin's  self-moving  wheel,  was 
a  condenser  consisting  of  a  circular  glass  plate  coated  on 
both  faces  and  mounted  to  revolve  upon  a  vertical  shaft. 
Equidistant  around  the  rim  of  this  disk  were  leaden  bul 
lets  connected  alternately  with  the  coatings.  Surround 
ing  the  revolving  plate  were  glass  columns  supporting 
insulated  brass  thimbles  and  these  attracted,  were  charged 
by  and  then  repelled  each  passing  bullet  as  the  wheel 

1  Franklin:  Electricity.     Fourth  edition — 1769,  p.  31. 
9 


H4  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

revolved.  This  motor  would  make  fifty  revolutions  a 
minute  and  run  half  an  hour  from  a  single  charge. 

In  these  devices  we  have  a  close  approach  to  some 
later  forms  of  electrostatic  apparatus,  such  as  the  influ 
ence  machines  of  Toepler  and  Holtz. 

With  the  exception  of  the  lightning  rod,  which  came 
later,  these  two  machines  represent  Franklin's  nearest 
approach  to  practical  electrical  invention.  In  the  con 
struction  of  apparatus  to  illsutrate  the  principles  of  the 
science,  to  excite  surprise  or  merely  to  amaze  or  amuse, 
he  was  exceedingly  ingenious  and  fertile.  Such  toys 
failed,  however,  to  satisfy  the  utilitarian  spirit  which 
was  always  strong  in  him,  and  he  expressed  in  an  oft- 
quoted  passage  his  chagrin  at  being  able  "  to  produce 
nothing  in  this  way  of  use  to  mankind.1  What  would 
he  say  to  the  gigantic  industrial  growths  from  the  seed 
that  he  helped  to  sow? 

No  scientific  achievement  of  Franklin's  made  so  pro 
found  an  impression  upon  the  public  of  his  day  as  his 
demonstration  that  lightning  is  an  electrical  phenom 
enon  and  even  now  nothing  is  more  generally  associated 
with  his  memory.  He  was  not  the  first,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  compare  the  noise  and  spark  of  the  artificial 
electric  discharge  with  thunder  and  lightning;  but 
neither  Wall  nor  Grey  nor  yet  Nollet  appear  to  have 

franklin:  Electricity,  p.  37. 


RESEARCHES  IN  ELECTRICITY  115 

considered  the  possibility  of  an  experimental  verification 
of  their  suggestion. 

Franklin,  however,  was  prompt  to  propose  a  method 
of  testing  the  matter  and  his  plan  of  erecting  an  iron 
rod  in  the  open  air  was  successful  at  Marly  in  France, 
and  the  result  confirmed  at  Paris  and  in  England  long 
before  his  own  famous  experiment  with  the  kite  had 
been  attempted.  Subsequently  he  made  many  determi 
nations  of  the  sign  of  the  discharge  from  the  clouds 
which  he  found  to  be  commonly  but  not  universally 
negative. 

The  subject  of  atmospheric  electricity  appealed  to  him 
strongly  and  from  two  very  different  points  of  view. 

Being  a  man  of  science  and  given  to  speculation  he 
developed  a  theory  of  the  electrification  of  clouds  and  of 
the  phenomena  of  thunder  storms;  being  a  practical 
man  he  invented  the  lightning  rod.  This  device  was 
intended  to  afford  a  double  protection,  dissipating  the 
atmospheric  charge  by  the  action  of  points  and  conduct 
ing  the  current  of  discharge  harmlessly  to  earth.  What 
ever  we  may  now  think  of  the  adequacy  of  the  means 
employed,  the  usefulness  of  the  lightning  rod  in  one 
respect  is  undisputed.  It  gave  a  sense  of  security  and 
peace  of  mind  to  those  who  availed  themselves  of  it,  and 
thus  robbed  the  thunder  storm  of  its  terrors  to  the  timid 
if  not  of  its  actual  dangers.  Who  does  this,  if  nothing 


n6  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

more,  for  three  or  four  generations  of  weak-minded 
mortals  is  surely  to  be  regarded  as  a  benefactor! 

Franklin's  theory  of  thunder  storms,  or  as  he  termed  it 
in  his  fifth  letter,  written  in  1749,  his  "  new  hypothesis 
for  explaining  the  several  phenomena  of  thunder  gusts  " 
was  ingenious  and  altogether  original.  He  regarded  the 
sea  as  the  source  of  atmospheric  electricity.  "  When," 
he  says,  "  there  is  a  friction  among  the  parts  near  its 
surface  the  electrical  fire  is  collected  from  the  parts  be 
low;  it  is  then  clearly  visible  in  the  night;  it  appears  at 
the  stern  and  in  the  wake  of  every  sailing  vessel;  every 
dash  of  an  oar  shows  it  and  every  surf  and  spray.  In 
storms  the  whole  sea  seems  on  fire.  The  detached  par 
ticles  of  water  then  repelled  from  the  electrified  surface 
continually  carry  off  the  fire  as  it  is  collected;  they  rise 
and  form  clouds  and  those  clouds  are  highly  electrified 
and  retain  the  fire  until  they  have  an  opportunity  of  com 
municating  it." 

Subsequently  Franklin  convinced  himself  by  experi 
ments  upon  sea  water  that  he  was  mistaken  in  supposing 
the  phosphorescence  to  be  of  electrical  origin.  He  then 
considered  whether  particles  of  air  might  not  by  their 
friction  against  objects  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth  be 
come  electrified  and  impart  their  charge  to  the  clouds 
and  he  attempted  to  test  this  assumption  by  blowing  a 
stream  of  air  by  means  of  bellows  against  an  insulated 
conductor,  but  the  experiment  did  not  succeed.  A  later 


RESEARCHES  IN  ELECTRICITY  117 

theory, — or  as  he  modestly  termed  it,  a  conjecture — pro 
posed  in  his  twelfth  letter  was  based  upon  the  fact,  which 
he  had  in  the  meantime  established,  that  the  charge  of 
clouds  was  usually  negative.  When  a  body,  according 
to  Franklin,  contains  a  certain  amount  of  the  electric 
fluid  it  is  neutral  or  unelectrified.  An  excess  produces 
the  phenomena  of  positive  electrification  and  deficiency 
that  of  negative  electrification.  Water  in  its  ordinary 
condition  is  neutral  but  if  it  be  converted  into  vapor 
without  loss  of  the  electric  fluid  it  is  capable  of  con 
taining  a  greater  quantity  on  account  of  the  increase  of 
volume.  Clouds  formed  by  the  evaporation  of  unelec 
trified  water  will  therefore  show  a  negative  charge. 
Such  a  cloud  coming  within  striking  distance  of  the 
earth  will  receive  additional  electricity  in  the  form  of 
a  flash  and  will  impart  the  fluid  received  to  other  clouds 
in  the  neighborhood  until  equilibrium  is  established. 
To  account  for  the  occasional  positive  charge  of  thunder 
clouds  Franklin  imagined  that  a  cloud  having  had  its 
deficiency  of  electricity  supplied  from  the  earth  might 
be  compressed  from  the  action  of  the  wind,  "  so  that  part 
of  what  it  had  absorbed  was  forced  out  and  formed  an 
electric  atmosphere  around  it  in  its  denser  state." 

That  speculations  upon  so  difficult  a  subject  as  the 
origin  of  atmospheric  electricity  should  afford  no  final 
theory,  even  at  the  hands  of  a  Franklin,  was  inevitable. 
The  necessary  experimental  basis  for  such  a  result  did 


n8  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

not  yet  exist.  After  a  century  and  a  half  of  further 
study  our  electricians  are  still  seeking  a  solution  of  the 
problem.  Whether  the  phenomena  are  to  find  their  ulti 
mate  explanation,  as  we  now  imagine,  in  the  ionization 
of  the  air  remains  for  the  future  to  determine. 

Of  speculation  as  to  the  nature  of  electricity  before 
Franklin's  time  and  among  his  contemporaries,  there  had 
already  been  an  abundance  but  it  was  for  the  most  part 
vague,  with  a  tendency  to  the  occult.  This  was  partic 
ularly  true  of  the  German  experimenters  of  the  period 
of  whom  Hoppe1  in  his  "  History  of  Electricity  "  says 
that  they  did  not  understand  the  significance  of  their 
own  experiments  and  so  mixed  their  facts  with  fantasy 
as  to  render  them  unintelligible  to  others.  He  compares 
the  bombastic  and  vaguely  phrased  work  of  such  writers 
with  the  productions  of  Franklin,  of  which  he  says:  "  I 
have  read  no  work  of  the  former  century  so  easy  and 
clear  of  understanding  as  those  letters  which  Franklin 
sent  to  London  and  through  which  in  the  course  of  a 
few  months  he  became  world  renowned."  There  is 
nothing  obscure  about  Franklin's  presentation:  even  in 
his  theorizing,  there  is  no  misunderstanding  him.  He 
thought  essentially  as  we  do  to-day  although  compelled 
to  express  himself  in  part  at  least  in  the  language  of 
his  period.  How  many  writers  on  science  in  our  day 
can  hope  to  be  as  easily  understood  in  the  year  2060? 

1  Hoppe:  Die  Elektrizitat,  p.  26. 


RESEARCHES  IN  ELECTRICITY  119 

In  any  consideration  of  his  theory  of  electricity  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  doctrine  of  energy  did  not  yet 
exist,  that  fire  was  regarded  as  a  subtile  fluid  penetrat 
ing  the  pores  of  bodies,  and  that  Franklin  in  speaking 
of  "  the  electric  fire  "  had  in  mind  an  analogous  medium. 
The  mathematical  concept  of  potential  was  yet  to  be 
developed.  Although  Ellicott  in  1746  and  also  Gralath 
had  attempted  to  determine  electrostatic  attractions  by 
means  of  the  balance,  and  Nollet  had  used  an  electro 
scope  with  repelled  threads  of  which  he  measured  the 
divergence,  the  science  of  electrical  measurement  was  to 
await  the  advent  of  Cavendish  and  Coulomb. 

Franklin  contributed  nothing  of  a  quantitative  char 
acter  to  the  science  of  electricity,  but  he  was  an  accurate 
observer  of  phenomena.  His  fondness  for  speculation 
was  unbounded  and  he  indulged  it  freely  upon  every 
subject. 

Speculation  is  an  essential  feature  of  theory  building, 
particularly  in  the  beginnings  of  a  science.  In  Frank 
lin's  case  it  was  controlled  by  practical  common  sense, 
sound  logic  and  a  rare  definiteness  of  conception.  After 
any  speculative  flight  the  strongly  utilitarian  side  of  his 
nature  was  sure  to  assert  itself  as  in  this  characteristic 
passage,  which  follows  an  attempt  to  explain  the  action 
of  points.  "  Nor  is  it  of  much  importance  to  us  to  know 
the  manner  in  which  nature  executes  her  laws;  'tis 
enough  if  we  know  the  laws  themselves.  'Tis  of  real 


120  NICHOLS:  FRANKLIN'S 

use  to  know  that  china  left  in  the  air  unsupported  will 
fall  and  break,  but  how  it  comes  to  fall,  and  why  it 
breaks  are  matters  of  speculation.  Tis  a  pleasure  in 
deed  to  know  them,  but  we  can  preserve  our  china  with 
out  it."1 

Franklin  thought  of  electricity  as  a  fluid  penetrating 
all  forms  of  matter.  It  consisted,  according  to  his  view, 
of  mutually  repellant  particles  each  of  which  was  indi 
vidually  attracted  by  the  particles  of  matter.  Under 
these  attractions  the  electric  fluid  would  pour  into  a  sub 
stance,  permeating  it  until  equilibrium  between  the  at 
tractions  and  repulsions  occurred.  Further  additions  of 
the  fluid  would  distribute  themselves  upon  the  surface, 
forming  what  Franklin  termed  an  electrical  atmosphere 
and  the  body  would  be  positively  charged. 

This  theory,  which  I  shall  not  attempt  to  outline 
further,  fulfills  the  requirements  of  a  scientific  hypothesis 
in  that  it  afforded  a  definite  mechanical  concept  by 
means  of  which  all  the  facts  known  at  that  time  could 
be  brought  into  relation  with  one  another  and  harmon 
ized.  When  it  became  known  to  Franklin's  contempor 
aries  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  it  provoked  a  lively 
discussion.  Although  totally  at  variance  with  the  views 
prevailing  in  Europe,  his  new  one  fluid  theory  appealed 
to  many.  His  adherents  were  known  as  the  Franklinists, 
and  the  controversy  between  them  and  their  opponents 

franklin:  Electricity,  p.  62. 


121 


was  violent  and  prolonged.  It  lasted,  indeed,  until  the 
interest  in  electricity  itself  began  to  wane  towards  the 
end  of  the  century. 

That  Benjamin  Franklin  should  be  the  author  of  the 
one  theory  of  electricity  which  of  all  the  views  on  this 
subject  comes  nearest  to  our  twentieth  century  concept 
may  seem  strange;  for  with  him  electricity  after  all  was 
merely  an  episode,  a  form  of  intellectual  diversion  into 
which  he  was  drawn  by  accident  in  middle  life  and 
which  he  abandoned  after  a  few  years  for  other,  and,  as 
it  seemed  to  him,  more  practical  things.  We  need  not, 
however,  be  astonished  that  he  left  his  imperishable  im 
press  upon  the  science  of  his  time.  A  man  who  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  rejected  the  doctrine 
of  action  at  a  distance  and  insisted  upon  the  necessity  of 
a  universal  medium  pervading  all  space,  and  who,  at 
the  very  zenith  of  Newton's  fame,  repudiated  the  cor 
puscular  theory  and  thought  of  light  as  transmitted  by 
a  vibratory  motion,  must  be  recognized  as  possessing  a 
native  endowment  unequaled  by  any  of  the  intellects  of 
his  day.  Had  the  many-sided  Franklin  been  one-sided, 
and  that  side  turned  to  science,  what  might  he  not  have 
accomplished?  But  then  he  would  not  have  been  our 
Benjamin  Franklin! 


THE  MODERN  THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY 

AND  THEIR  RELATION  TO  THE 

FRANKLINIAN  THEORY 

BY  PROFESSOR  ERNEST  RUTHERFORD,  F.R.S. 

[Address  delivered  in  Witherspoon  Hall,  Wednesday,  April  18.] 

AM   very  much   honored  by  the   invitation  of  the 


I 


American  Philosophical  Society  to  take  part  as  a 
foreign  representative  in  the  celebrations  in  honor  of 
the  memory  of  its  distinguished  founder,  Benjamain 
Franklin.  I  feel,  however,  that  it  is  only  in  the  strictly 
formal  sense  that  I  can  be  regarded  as  a  foreign  repre 
sentative.  When  I  recall  that  Franklin,  during  the 
period  of  his  greatest  scientific  activity,  was  a  citizen 
of  that  nation  to  which  I  have  the  honor  to  belong,  it 
seems  to  me  quite  natural  that  the  English  people  should 
vie  with  that  of  America  in  generous  rivalry  in  doing 
honor  to  the  contributions  made  by  Franklin  to  scientific 
knowledge.  May  we  not  justly  regard  the  scientific 
achievements  of  Benjamin  Franklin  as  the  joint  heritage 
and  pride  of  the  English  speaking  peoples? 

In  reviewing  the  life  of  Franklin,  one  cannot  fail  to 
be  impressed  by  the  many-sidedness  of  the  activities  dis 
played  by  him  during  his  long  career.  But  there  is  no 


124  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

province  in  which  we  can  form  a  better  estimate  of  his 
intellectual  eminence,  clearness  of  vision,  and  philosophic 
insight  than  in  his  original  contributions  to  the  then 
infant  science  of  electricity.  My  colleague,  Professor 
E.  L.  Nichols,  has  given  you  an  interesting  review  of  his 
scientific  work  as  a  whole,  and  it  now  devolves  on  me 
to  point  out  the  significance  of  his  contributions  to 
knowledge  in  the  special  domain  of  electrical  theory. 
This  may  seem  at  first  sight  a  relatively  simple  task, 
but  after  emerging  from  the  ordeal  of  preparing  this 
lecture,  I  can  personally  say  with  some  confidence  that 
this  is  far  from  being  the  case. 

The  theory  of  electricity  developed  by  Franklin,  gen 
erally  known  as  the  "  one  fluid  "  theory,  must  be  re 
garded  as  the  greatest  of  his  additions  to  electrical 
knowledge,  for  it  has  exerted  a  profound  influence  on 
the  development  of  electrical  ideas,  and,  even  after  the 
lapse  of  a  century  and  a  half  of  ceaseless  activity  in  elec 
trical  research,  still  holds  its  place,  though  in  a  modified 
form,  as  the  generally  accepted  explanation  of  the  con 
nection  between  positive  and  negative  electricity. 

In  the  course  of  this  lecture  I  shall  first  endeavor 
to  outline  the  fundamental  conceptions  of  Franklin's 
theory,  and  then  trace  the  gradual  growth  of  our 
ideas  on  the  nature  of  electricity  and  the  connection  of 
Franklin's  theory  with  the  views  of  electricity  that  are 
held  to-day. 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  125 

When  Franklin  began  his  electrical  experiments  in 
1746  the  knowledge  of  electricity  was  of  an  extremely 
fragmentary  and  elementary  character.  It  was  known 
that  a  number  of  bodies,  when  rubbed,  became  elec 
trified  and  the  repulsions  and  attractions  of  electrified 
bodies  had  been  observed.  Dufay  had  shown  that  two 
different  kinds  of  electricity  were  developed  by  rubbing 
glass  and  resin,  which  he  termed  "  vitreous  "  and  "  res 
inous  "  electricity,  respectively,  or  what  we  should  now 
term  positive  and  negative.  His  work,  however,  was 
very  little  known  at  the  time,  and  it  is  very  doubtful 
whether  Franklin  in  his  earlier  experiments  was  ac 
quainted  with  it. 

The  fame  of  the  shock  produced  by  the  accumulator 
of  electricity,  or  Leyden  jar,  discovered  by  Cunaeus  of 
Leyden  in  1746,  had  immediately  spread  throughout 
the  civilized  world,  and  there  was  an  intense  and  wide 
spread  interest  in  the  properties  of  this  "  electrical  fire," 
as  it  was  then  called.  At  this  period  it  was  not  difficult 
for  anyone  to  become  rapidly  acquainted  with  the  work 
already  done  in  electrostatics,  and  the  amateurs  of  sci 
ence  were  on  an  equal  footing  with  their  more  profes 
sional  brethren  in  the  pursuit  of  further  knowledge. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  Franklin  became  interested 
in  electrical  experiments,  mainly  through  the  instrumen 
tality  of  Peter  Collinson  of  Edinburgh,  who  had  pre 
sented  an  electrical  machine  to  the  Library  Company 


126  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

of  Philadelphia.  Animated  at  first  probably  by  curios 
ity  to  see  for  himself  the  effects  produced  by  this  mys 
terious  new  agent,  Franklin  rapidly  contracted  the  fever 
of  the  scientific  discoverer.  In  his  first  communication, 
addressed  in  the  form  of  a  letter  to  Collinson,  he  starts 
by  giving  an  admirable  and  clear  statement  of  the  ac 
tion  of  points  in  "  drawing  off  "  and  "  throwing  off  " 
the  electrical  fire.  He  then  proceeds  to  formulate  his 
views  of  electrical  action  in  the  following  words: 

"  We  had  for  some  time  been  of  opinion  that  the  elec 
trical  fire  was  not  created  by  friction,  but  collected, 
being  really  an  element  diffused  among  and  attracted  by 
other  matter,  particularly  by  water  and  metals."  Later 
follows  a  description  of  the  experiments  which  had  led 
him  to  these  conclusions: 

"A  person  standing  on  wax  and  rubbing  the  tube,  and 
another  person  on  wax  drawing  the  fire,  they  will  both 
of  them  (provided  they  do  not  stand  so  as  to  touch  one 
another)  appear  to  be  electrized  to  a  person  standing 
on  the  floor;  that  is,  he  will  perceive  a  spark  on  ap 
proaching  each  of  them  with  his  knuckle. 

"  But  if  the  persons  on  wax  touch  one  another  during 
the  exciting  of  the  tube,  neither  of  them  will  appear  to 
be  electrized. 

"  If  they  touch  one  another  after  exciting  the  tube, 
and  drawing  the  fire  as  aforesaid,  there  will  be  a  stronger 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  127 

spark  between  them  than  was  between  either  of  them  and 
the  person  on  the  floor. 

"After  such  strong  spark,  neither  of  them  discover  any 
electricity. 

"  These  appearances  we  attempt  to  account  for  thus: 
We  suppose,  as  aforesaid,  that  electrical  fire  is  a  common 
element,  of  which  every  one  of  the  three  persons  above 
mentioned  has  his  equal  share,  before  any  operation  is 
begun  with  the  tube.  A,  who  stands  on  wax  and  rubs 
the  tube,  collects  the  electrical  fire  from  himself  into 
the  glass,  and  his  communication  with  the  common  stock 
being  cut  off  by  the  wax,  his  body  is  not  again  imme 
diately  supplied.  B  (who  stands  on  wax  likewise), 
passing  his  knuckle  along  near  the  tube,  receives  the  fire 
which  was  collected  by  the  glass  from  A,  and  his  com 
munication  with  the  common  stock  being  likewise  cut 
off,  he  retains  the  additional  quantity  received.  To  C, 
standing  on  the  floor,  both  appear  to  be  electrized,  for 
he,  having  only  the  middle  quantity  of  electrical  fire, 
receives  a  spark  upon  approaching  B,  who  has  an  over 
quantity;  but  gives  one  to  A,  who  has  an  under  quantity. 
If  A  and  B  approach  to  touch  one  another,  the  spark  is 
stronger  because  the  difference  between  them  is  greater. 
After  such  touch  there  is  no  spark  between  either  of 
them  and  C,  because  the  electrical  fire  in  all  of  them  is 
reduced  to  the  original  equality.  If  they  touch  while 
electrizing  the  equality  is  never  destroyed,  the  fire  only 


128  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

circulating.  Hence  have  arisen  some  new  terms  among 
us;  we  say  B  (and  bodies  like  circumstanced)  is  elec- 
tricized  positively;  A  negatively.  Or  rather  B  is  elec 
trized  plus;  A  minus.  And  we  daily  in  our  experiments 
electrize  bodies  plus  or  minus,  as  we  think  proper.  To 
electrize  plus  or  minus,  no  more  needs  to  be  known  than 
this,  that  the  parts  of  the  tube  or  sphere  that  are  rubbed 
do,  in  the  instant  of  the  friction,  attract  the  electrical 
fire,  and  therefore  take  it  from  the  thing  rubbing;  the 
same  parts  immediately,  as  the  friction  upon  them  ceases, 
are  disposed  to  give  the  fire  they  have  received  to  any 
body  that  has  less.  Thus  you  may  circulate  it  as  Mr. 
Watson  has  shown;  you  may  also  accumulate  or  subtract 
it  upon  or  from  any  body,  as  you  connect  that  body  with 
the  rubber,  or  with  the  receiver,  the  communication  with 
the  common  stock  being  cut  off." 

In  this  letter  we  have  the  first  use  of  the  terms  positive 
and  negative  electricity,  which  now  sound  so  familiar 
to  our  ears. 

In  his  next  letter,  he  still  further  elaborates  his  views 
and  gives  an  explanation  of  the  action  of  the  Leyden  jar 
or  bottle  as  an  accumulator  of  electricity.  In  this  we 
have  a  remarkably  clear  statement  of  his  views  of  the 
connection  between  positive  and  negative  electricity. 

"At  the  same  time  that  the  wire  and  the  top  of  the 
bottle  is  electrized  positively  or  plus,  the  bottom  of  the 
bottle  is  electrized  negatively  or  minus,  in  exact  proper- 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  129 

tion;  that  is,  whatever  quantity  of  electrical  fire  is  thrown 
in  at  the  top  an  equal  quantity  goes  out  at  the  bottom.1 
To  understand  this,  suppose  the  common  quantity  of 
electricity  in  each  part  of  the  bottle,  before  the  operation 
begins,  is  equal  to  twenty;  and  at  every  stroke  of  the 
tube,  suppose  a  quantity  equal  to  one  is  thrown  in;  then 
after  the  first  stroke,  the  quantity  contained  in  the  wire 
and  upper  part  of  the  bottle  will  be  twenty-one,  in  the 
bottom  nineteen;  after  the  second,  the  upper  part  will 
have  twenty-two,  the  lower  eighteen,  and  so  on,  till,  after 
twenty  strokes,  the  upper  part  will  have  a  quantity  of 
electrical  fire  equal  to  forty,  the  lower  part  none;  and 
then  the  operation  ends;  for  no  more  can  be  thrown  into 
the  upper  part,  when  no  more  can  be  driven  out  of  the 
lower  part.  If  you  attempt  to  throw  more  in,  it  is 
spewed  back  through  the  wire  or  flies  out  in  loud  cracks 
through  the  sides  of  the  bottle. 

"  The  equilibrium  cannot  be  restored  in  the  bottle  by 
inward  communication  or  contact  of  the  parts,  but  it 
must  be  done  by  a  communication  formed  without  the 
bottle,  between  the  top  and  the  bottom  by  some  non 
electric,2  touching  or  approaching  both  at  the  same  time; 
in  which  case  it  is  restored  with  a  violence  and  quick- 

"  What  is  said  here,  and   after,  of  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  bottle  is  true 
of  the  inside  and  outside  surfaces  and  should  have  been  so  expressed." 

2  The  term  "  non-electric "  is  applied  to  a  metal  or  other  conductor  of  elec 
tricity.  An  "  electric  "  is  an  insulator  of  electricity. 

10 


130  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

ness  inexpressible;  or  touching  each  alternately,  in  which 
case  the  equilibrium  is  restored  by  degrees. 

"As  no  more  electrical  fire  can  be  thrown  into  the  top  of 
the  bottle  when  all  is  driven  out  of  the  bottom,  so  in  a  bot 
tle  not  yet  electrized,  none  can  be  thrown  into  the  top,  when 
none  can  get  out  at  the  bottom,  which  happens  either 
when  the  bottom  is  too  thick,  or  when  the  bottle  is  placed 
on  an  electric  per  se.  Again,  when  the  bottle  is  electrized, 
but  little  of  the  electrical  fire  can  be  drawn  out  from  the 
top  by  touching  the  wire,  unless  an  equal  quantity  can 
at  the  same  time  get  in  at  the  bottom.  Thus,  place  an 
electrized  bottle  on  clean  glass  or  dry  wax,  and  you  will 
not,  by  touching  the  wire,  get  out  the  fire  from  the  top. 
Place  it  on  a  non-electric  and  touch  the  wire,  you  will 
get  it  in  a  short  time;  but  soonest  when  you  form  a  direct 
communication  as  above. 

"  So  wonderfully  are  these  two  states  of  electricity,  the 
plus  and  minus,  combined  and  balanced  in  this  mirac 
ulous  bottle!  situated  and  related  to  each  other  in  a 
manner  that  I  can  by  no  means  comprehend!  If  it  were 
possible  that  a  bottle  should  in  one  part  contain  a  quan 
tity  of  air  strongly  compressed  and  in  another  part  a  per 
fect  vacuum,  we  know  the  equilibrium  would  be  in 
stantly  restored  within.  But  here  we  have  a  bottle  con 
taining  at  the  same  time  a  plenum  of  electrical  fire  and 
a  vacuum  of  the  same  fire,  and  yet  the  equilibrium  can 
not  be  restored  between  them  but  by  a  communication 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  131 

without!  though  the  plenum  presses  violently  to  expand, 
and  the  hungry  vacuum  seems  to  attract  as  violently  in 
order  to  be  filled." 

One  cannot  but  admire  the  remarkable  clearness  of 
this  explanation  of  the  then  mysterious  action  of  the 
Leyden  jar.  In  fact,  with  few  alterations  it  would  serve 
the  same  purpose  to-day.  The  fundamental  conditions 
to  be  fulfilled  in  charging  and  discharging  the  jar  are 
brought  out  with  such  emphasis  and  point  that  it  is  not 
difficult  to  imagine  Franklin,  in  the  guise  of  a  modern 
professor  of  physics,  expounding  the  action  of  the  Ley- 
den  jar  to  a  class-room  of  inattentive  students — an  image 
that  may  appeal  more  forcibly  to  my  colleague,  Pro 
fessor  Nichols,  than  to  my  audience. 

While  the  theory  of  Franklin  of  the  action  of  the 
Leyden  jar  was  a  notable  advance  in  electrical  ideas,  we 
can  now  see  clearly  the  imperfections  in  his  explanation. 
The  idea  of  electrical  induction  still  remained  to  be  fully 
developed,  and  it  was  not  till  nearly  a  century  later  that 
Faraday  clearly  laid  down  the  true  action  of  the  glass 
or  dielectric. 

In  a  later  letter  in  1749,  Franklin  returns  again  to 
his  views  of  the  nature  of  this  electrical  fluid: 

'  The  electrical  matter  consists  of  particles  extremely 
subtile,  since  it  can  permeate  common  matter,  even  the 
densest  metals,  with  such  ease  and  freedom  as  not  to 
receive  any  perceptible  resistance. 


132  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

"  If  any  one  should  doubt  whether  the  electrical  mat 
ter  passes  through  the  substance  of  bodies,  or  only  over 
and  along  their  surfaces,  a  shock  from  an  electrified 
large  glass  jar,  taken  through  his  own  body,  will  prob 
ably  convince  him. 

"  Electrical  matter  differs  from  ordinary  matter  in 
this,  that  the  parts  of  the  latter  mutually  attract,  those 
of  the  former  mutually  repel  each  other.  Hence  the 
appearing  divergency  in  a  stream  of  electrified  effluvia. 

"  But  though  the  particles  of  electrical  matter  do 
repel  each  other,  they  are  strongly  attracted  by  all  other 
matter. 

"  From  these  three  things  the  extreme  subtilty  of  the 
electrical  matter,  the  mutual  repulsion  of  its  parts,  and 
the  strong  attraction  between  them  and  other  matter, 
arises  this  effect,  that  when  a  quantity  of  electrical  mat 
ter  is  applied  to  a  mass  of  common  matter,  of  any  bigness 
or  length  within  our  observation  (which  hath  not  already 
got  its  quantity) ,  it  is  immediately  and  equally  diffused 
through  the  whole. 

"  Thus,  common  matter  is  a  kind  of  sponge  to  the  elec 
trical  fluid.  .  .  .  But  in  common  matter  there  is  (gen 
erally)  as  much  of  the  electrical  as  it  will  contain  within 
its  substance.  If  more  is  added,  it  lies  without  upon  the 
surface,  and  forms  what  we  call  an  electrical  atmos 
phere;  and  then  the  body  is  said  to  be  electrified. 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  133 

"  It  is  supposed  that  all  kinds  of  common  matter  do 
not  attract  and  retain  the  electrical  with  equal  strength 
and  force  for  reasons  to  be  given  hereafter.  And  that 
those  called  electrics  per  se,  as  glass,  etc.,  attract  and 
retain  its  strongest  and  contain  the  greatest  quantity. 

"  We  know  that  the  electrical  fluid  is  in  common 
matter,  because  we  can  pump  it  out  by  the  globe  or 
tube.  We  know  that  common  matter  has  near  as  much 
as  it  can  contain,  because,  when  we  add  a  little  more  to 
any  portion  of  it,  the  additional  quantity  does  not  enter 
but  forms  an  electrical  atmosphere.  And  we  know  that 
common  matter  has  not  (generally)  more  than  it  can 
contain,  otherwise  all  loose  portions  of  it  would  repel 
each  other,  as  they  constantly  do  when  they  have  electric 
atmospheres." 

The  conception  of  Franklin  that  electricity  was  an 
indestructible  and  subtile  fluid  which  permeated  all 
bodies  was  a  not  unnatural  one  to  occur  to  a  philosopher 
of  that  time,  for  it  was  the  century  in  which  the  notion 
of  material  fluids  was  invented  to  explain  diverse  phys 
ical  phenomena,  for  example,  heat  and  magnetism.  But 
the  great  merit  of  Franklin  lies  in  the  explanation  of 
positive  and  negative  electricity  by  means  of  a  single 
fluid.  Every  unelectrified  body  is  supposed  to  contain 
its  normal  quantum  of  this  electrical  fluid.  A  body  is 
positively  electrified  when  it  contains  an  excess  of  this 


134  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

fluid  and  negatively  when  it  has  a  defect  or  has  lost  a 
part  of  its  normal  quantity.  In  addition,  Franklin 
clearly  recognized  that  the  charging  of  a  Leyden  jar 
resulted  from  a  disturbance  of  its  electrical  equilibrium, 
which  was  restored  by  discharging  the  jar. 

In  a  later  letter  he  describes  his  ingenious  investiga 
tions  to  show  that  the  electricity  in  the  jar  does  not 
reside  in  the  metal  coatings  but  on  the  surface  of  the 
glass  itself,  but  for  our  purpose  we  must  be  content  with 
only  a  passing  reference  to  this  classical  experiment. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  mention  here  the  extraordi 
narily  wide-spread  interest  in  the  work  of  Franklin  that 
very  rapidly  followed  the  publication  of  his  scientific 
letters.  The  lucidity  of  his  writings  no  doubt  materially 
contributed  to  this  result,  for  in  this  respect  Franklin 
was  in  marked  contrast  to  some  of  his  scientific  contem 
poraries.  Without  detracting  in  the  least  from  the 
merit  of  these  philosophers,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  turbidity  of  their  writings  was  a  fair 
index  of  the  state  of  their  conceptions  of  electrical  ac 
tions. 

There  has  been  a  tendency  in  later  days  among  some 
writers  to  claim  priority  for  Dufay  over  Franklin  in 
the  conception  of  the  electrical  fluid.  There  appears  to 
be  no  satisfactory  foundation  for  this  belief.  Dufay  cer 
tainly  recognized  that  different  kinds  of  electricity  were 
developed  by  rubbing  glass  and  resin.  This,  however, 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  135 

was  a  purely  experimental  observation,  and  he  appears 
never  to  have  put  forward  any  definite  electrical  theory 
to  account  for  his  results. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  philosophers  at  that 
time,  the  main  defect  of  Franklin's  theory  lay  in  the  fact 
that  it  failed  to  offer  any  explanation  why  two  bodies, 
negatively  electrified,  should  repel  each  other.  To  over 
come  this  objection  John  Symmer,  an  Englishman,  put 
forward  in  1759  a  modified  form  of  Franklin's  views, 
now  known  as  the  "  two  fluid  "  theory. 

On  this  theory,  a  neutral  body  contains  an  equal 
amount  of  two  distinct  electrical  fluids  which  give  rise 
to  positive  and  negative  electricity  respectively.  Each 
portion  of  the  one  fluid  repels  itself,  but  attracts  the 
other.  On  this  view,  positive  and  negative  electricity 
are  two  distinct  entities  instead  of  one  as  supposed  by 
Franklin. 

On  account  of  its  simplicity  the  theory  of  Franklin  at 
first  met  with  general  acceptance,  for  it  offered  a  reason 
able  explanation  of  the  facts  known  at  that  time.  As 
electrical  knowledge  advanced,  it  began  to  be  recog 
nized  that  Franklin's  theory  must  be  extended  in  order 
to  account  fully  for  the  observed  facts.  Aepinus,  an 
ardent  advocate  of  Franklin's  hypothesis,  showed  that  it 
was  necessary  to  introduce  the  idea  not  only  that  the  elec 
trical  fluid  repelled  itself  and  attracted  neutral  matter, 
but  that  the  particles  of  matter  repelled  each  other. 


136  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

With  these  modifications,  the  one  fluid  theory  and  its 
rival  were  mathematically  identical,  and  it  was  grad 
ually  recognized  that  it  was  impossible  to  devise  any 
obvious  experimental  test  to  decide  between  them.  Under 
the  weight  of  these  new  hypotheses,  however,  the  one 
fluid  theory  lost  its  original  simplicity  and  gave  way  to 
some  extent  to  its  rival,  and  Aepinus  himself  finally  be 
came  an  unwilling  convert.  It  is  not  necessary  to  dis 
cuss  further  the  conflict  between  the  two  theories.  The 
victory  for  the  time  inclined  to  the  side  of  the  two  fluid 
theory,  but  there  were  always  adherents  to  Franklin's 
hypothesis,  especially  in  England. 

The  idea  that  there  were  two  distinct  electrical  enti 
ties  was  repugnant  to  the  minds  of  many,  and  it  was 
seen  that  the  modified  Franklin  theory  served  to  explain 
the  experimental  facts  equally  as  well  as  the  other,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  possessed  the  merit  of  only  requiring 
one  electrical  fluid. 

The  conflict  between  these  two  theories  which  ap 
peared  so  real  and  vital  at  the  time  has  to  us  lost  much 
of  its  significance.  We  recognize  that  there  is  much 
in  common  between  the  two  theories,  and  that  both  are 
equally  successful  as  an  explanation  of  electrostatics,  and 
it  was  quite  fitting  that  both  theories  should  take  their 
place,  side  by  side,  as  alternative  explanations  of  the 
same  phenomena. 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  137 

We  must  rapidly  pass  over  the  period  following 
Franklin,  which  was  devoted  to  a  more  complete  under 
standing  of  electrical  actions  and  the  formulation  of  the 
subject  of  electrostatics  on  a  quantitative  and  mathemat 
ical  basis.  The  idea  of  electric  fluids  repelling  or  at 
tracting  each  other  with  Newtonian  forces  varying  in 
versely  as  the  square  of  the  distance,  lent  itself  readily 
to  a  complete  and  satisfactory  mathematical  theory  of 
electrostatics. 

As  the  subject  developed  on  mathematical  lines,  the 
conception  of  the  electric  fluids  became  more  and  more 
abstract,  and  lost  all  physical  significance.  The  fluids 
became  mere  mathematical  figments  to  serve  as  centers 
of  forces  of  attraction  or  repulsion  acting  at  a  distance. 

The  general  attitude  at  that  time  has  been  well  put  by 
J.  J.  Thomson:  "  The  physicists  and  mathematicians  who 
did  most  to  develop  the  '  fluid  theories '  confined  them 
selves  to  questions  of  this  kind,  and  defined  and  ideal 
ized  the  conception  of  these  fluids  until  any  reference  to 
their  physical  properties  was  considered  almost  indel 
icate." 

While  the  eighteenth  century  was  mainly  devoted  to 
the  study  of  electrostatics,  i.  e.,  to  the  study  of  the  phe 
nomena  of  electricity  at  rest,  and  may  be  considered  to 
be  the  age  of  the  electroscope  and  of  the  Leyden  jar, 
the  nineteenth  was  chiefly  occupied  with  a  considera 
tion  of  the  properties  of  the  electric  current,  i.  e.,  of 


138  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

electricity  in  motion,  and  was  the  age  of  the  galvanom 
eter  and  battery  and  of  its  successor,  the  dynamo.  As 
the  importance  of  current  electricity  became  more  and 
more  obvious  on  the  theoretical  as  well  as  on  the  purely 
practical  side,  the  subject  of  electrostatics,  which  figured 
so  prominently  in  the  infancy  of  the  subject,  fell  from 
its  high  estate,  and  there  was  a  tendency  as  the  century 
advanced  to  relegate  it  more  and  more  to  the  museum 
of  scientific  curiosities,  as  of  interest  mainly  to  the  anti 
quarian,  and  of  no  obvious  importance  to  the  develop 
ment  of  electricity,  except  perhaps  to  serve  as  mental 
pabulum  for  the  training  of  junior  students. 

This  statement  is  hardly  an  exaggeration  of  the  gen 
eral  attitude  of  the  scientific  world  to  electrostatics 
twenty  years  ago.  But  a  great  and  sudden  change  soon 
came  to  pass.  The  rapid  series  of  discoveries  beginning 
with  the  experiments  of  Hertz  on  electrical  waves  in 
1886,  the  discovery  of  X-rays  by  Rontgen  in  1895,  of 
radioactivity  by  Becquerel  in  1896,  and  the  investigation 
of  the  discharge  of  electricity  through  gases,  once  more 
attracted  attention  to  the  importance  of  the  fundamental 
ideas  of  electrostatics  and  to  the  connection  between  posi 
tive  and  negative  electricity. 

No  more  interesting  indication  of  this  rehabilitation 
of  the  subject  of  electrostatics  can  be  shown  than  the 
fact  that  the  Leyden  jar  is  now  an  indispensable  adjunct 
of  wireless  telegraphy,  and  that  the  gold  leaf  electro- 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  139 

scope,  which  figured  so  prominently  in  the  development 
of  electrostatics  more  than  a  century  ago  is  in  use 
throughout  the  world  as  the  most  reliable  instrument  for 
investigations  in  radioactivity. 

We  have  seen  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  subject  of  electrostatics  had  been  developed 
on  a  purly  mathematical  basis  of  forces  acting  at  a  dis 
tance,  and  that  but  little  physical  significance  was  at 
tached  to  the  conception  of  the  electric  fluids.  It  re 
quired  the  genius  of  Faraday  to  attract  attention  again 
to  the  physical  character  of  the  fluids  themselves  and  to 
combat  the  then  almost  universal  notion  of  forces  acting 
at  a  distance.  To  a  man  of  the  keen  physical  insight  of 
Faraday,  the  idea  that  the  attraction  and  repulsion  of 
bodies  was  due  merely  to  forces  acting  at  a  distance  was 
very  repugnant,  and  he  strenuously  championed  the  ne 
cessity  of  a  medium,  by  means  of  and  through  which 
forces  could  be  transmitted,  also  emphasizing  the  great 
importance  of  considering  the  medium  as  the  seat  of  the 
electrical  and  magnetic  forces  instead  of  the  fluids  them 
selves. 

In  illustration  of  these  ideas,  Faraday  introduced  the 
conception  of  lines  of  electric  and  magnetic  force,  with 
which  we  are  now  so  familiar.  The  old  notion  of  action 
at  a  distance,  which  had  done  such  great  service  in 
formulating  the  mathematical  theory  of  electrostatics, 
died  hard,  but  its  fate  was  sealed  by  the  development  of 


140  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

the  ideas  of  Faraday  in  mathematical  form  by  Clerk 
Maxwell. 

Following  the  publication  of  Maxwell's  famous  "  Elec 
tromagnetic  Theory  of  Light "  most  English  physicists 
became  converts  to  the  views  of  Faraday  and  Maxwell, 
though  the  theory  was  little  known  or  understood  out 
side  of  that  country.  It  required  the  verification  of 
Maxwell's  theory  by  the  classical  experiments  of  Hertz 
on  electrical  waves  to  draw  instant  and  universal  atten 
tion  to  the  new  point  of  view.  At  once  the  old  notion 
of  action  at  a  distance  gave  way  to  the  more  rational  and 
physical  conception  that  electric  and  magnetic  effects 
were  due  to  stresses  and  strains  in  the  medium  or  ether 
which  filled  all  space  and  penetrated  all  bodies. 

On  these  views,  the  energy  of  the  electric  current,  for 
example,  is  not  transferred  through  the  wire  itself,  but 
mainly  through  the  medium  surrounding  the  wire.  At 
tention  for  the  time  was  thus  transferred  from  the  actual 
carriers  of  the  electric  current  to  the  medium  surround 
ing  them. 

We  shall  now  consider  another  great  advance  made 
by  Faraday  in  showing  the  very  remarkable  relation  that 
exists  between  electricity  and  matter.  Following  the  dis 
covery  of  the  voltaic  cell,  it  had  been  dimly  recognized 
that  there  existed  a  close  connection  between  electricity 
and  matter,  but  the  exact  nature  of  this  relation  was 
made  clear  by  Faraday's  famous  experiments  on  elec- 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY 

trolysis  of  solutions.  When  an  electric  current  is  passed 
through  conducting  chemical  solutions,  known  as  elec 
trolytes,  chemical  decomposition  takes  place,  and  the 
products  of  the  decomposition  appear  at  the  electrodes. 
In  the  passage  of  a  current  through  acidulated  water, 
for  example,  the  components  of  the  water  molecule, 
hydrogen  and  oxygen,  are  set  free  at  the  electrodes. 

Faraday  supposed  that  the  passage  of  electricity 
through  a  solution  resulted  from  a  decomposition  of  the 
chemical  substance  into  positively  and  negatively  charged 
carriers  or  ions.  Under  the  influence  of  the  electric  field 
there  was  a  migration  of  the  positive  and  negative  ions 
in  opposite  directions,  the  positive  ions  moving  to  the 
negative  electrode  and  vice  versa. 

Faraday  observed  that  the  weight  of  matter  appear 
ing  at  the  electrodes,  for  the  passage  of  a  definite  quan 
tity  of  electricity  through  various  chemical  solutions, 
bore  a  very  simple  and  intimate  relation  to  the  atomic 
weights  of  the  elements.  The  weight  of  any  element 
set  free  was  directly  proportional  to  its  atomic  weight 
divided  by  a  whole  number  which  might  be  i,  2,  3  or 
more,  depending  on  what  is  known  as  the  "  valency  "  of 
the  element.  For  example,  the  weight  of  gold  deposited 
for  the  passage  of  a  given  quantity  of  electricity  was  65.5 
times  the  weight  of  hydrogen.  The  atomic  weight  of 
gold  relative  to  hydrogen  is  196.6,  so  that  in  this  case 
the  dividing  number  was  three. 


142  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

This  result,  as  we  shall  see,  is  most  simply  explained 
by  supposing  that  the  charge  carried  by  a  hydrogen  atom 
is  a  natural  and  indivisible  unit  of  electricity,  and  that 
the  various  ions  may  carry  a  charge  which  is  an  integral 
multiple  of  this  unit  charge.  For  example,  an  atom  of 
oxygen  carries  a  charge  of  two  units,  of  gold  three,  and 
of  tin  four. 

Quite  apart  from  their  practical  aspect,  the  results 
obtained  by  Faraday  were  of  the  greatest  importance  in 
indicating  that  there  was  a  close  relation  between  elec 
tricity  and  matter,  and  that  electrical  manifestations  must 
be  ascribed,  not  to  matter  in  bulk,  but  to  the  atoms  or 
molecules  composing  it.  In  addition  they  clearly  showed 
that  the  currents  obtained  from  the  voltaic  battery  re 
sulted  from  the  charges  set  free  by  the  chemical  decom 
position  of  the  substances  employed. 

The  full  theoretical  significance  of  Faraday's  work 
was  not  recognized  until  nearly  half  a  century  later, 
when  Helmholtz  and  Weber  suggested  that  the  results 
of  electrolysis  were  very  simply  explained  by  supposing 
that  electricity  was  atomic  in  structure.  On  this  view, 
electricity,  like  matter,  is  not  infinitely  divisible,  but 
appears  in  definite  small  lots,  as  it  were,  which  cannot 
be  further  subdivided.  This  natural  unit  of  quantity  of 
electricity  is  the  charge  carried  by  the  hydrogen  atom  in 
the  electrolysis  of  water,  and  every  quantity  of  electricity 
must  be  an  integral  multiple  of  this  natural  unit.  It  is 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  143 

impossible  to  obtain  any  quantity  of  electricity  which  is 
a  fraction  of  this  unit. 

The  term  "  electron  "  was  applied  by  Johnstone  Stoney 
an  a  convenient  name  for  this  "  atom  "  of  electricity. 
We  have  already  seen  how  this  point  of  view  at  once 
gives  a  deep  physical  significance  to  the  results  observed 
by  Faraday.  The  possibilities  of  this  new  hypothesis 
were  quickly  recognized  by  the  mathematical  physicists, 
Larmor  and  Lorentz,  as  affording  a  probable  explana 
tion  of  many  of  the  more  recondite  relations  that  existed 
between  electricity  and  matter. 

The  electronic  theories  developed  by  them  supposed 
that  the  atom  of  matter  consisted  in  an  aggregation  of 
positive  and  negative  ions  or  electrons  in  rapid  motion, 
forming,  as  it  were,  a  miniature  planetary  system. 

It  was  recognized  that  a  charged  particle  in  motion 
always  radiated  energy  when  its  motion  was  hastened 
or  retarded.  Since  a  charged  particle  moving,  for  ex 
ample,  in  a  small  circular  orbit  is  constantly  and  strongly 
accelerated  towards  its  center,  it  must  act  as  a  powerful 
radiator  of  energy.  This  at  once  suggested  that  the 
electron  rotating  within  the  atom  was  the  mechanism 
which  gave  rise  to  light.  This  conception  was  devel 
oped  notably  by  Lorentz,  who  predicted  that  the  period 
of  vibrations  of  the  electrons  must  be  altered  by  exposing 
the  radiant  source  in  a  magnetic  field.  This  prediction 
was  verified  a  few  years  later  by  the  experiments  of 


144  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

Zeeman,  who  observed  that  the  bright  lines  of  the  spec 
trum  were  displaced  and  broken  up  into  a  number  of 
separate  lines  by  exposing  the  source  of  light  in  a  strong 
magnetic  field.  The  full  significance  of  the  "  Zeeman 
effect "  will  be  discussed  a  little  later. 

In  this  development,  theory  was  distinctly  in  advance 
of  experiment,  and  we  shall  now  go  back  for  a  moment 
and  trace  the  gradual  development  of  a  new  line  of 
attack  which  has  yielded  results  that,  in  the  last  ten 
years,  have  profoundly  modified  and  extended  our  con 
ceptions  of  electricity  and  matter. 

It  had  early  been  recognized  that  there  were  distinct 
differences  in  the  discharge  of  positive  and  negative  elec 
tricity.  A  sharp  point,  for  example,  discharges  negative 
more  readily  than  positive  electricity,  while  the  appear 
ance  of  the  spark  is  different  at  the  two  discharging  ter 
minals.  This  difference  in  appearance  of  the  discharge 
is  still  further  accentuated  when  a  discharge  is  passed 
through  a  rarified  gas.  Anyone  who  has  witnessed  the 
beautiful  and  varied  luminous  effects  produced  when 
an  electric  discharge  is  passed  through  a  vacuum  tube, 
cannot  fail  to  have  been  impressed  by  the  remarkable 
differences  in  the  distribution  of  luminosity  at  the  two 
electrodes.  This  dissymmetry  in  the  discharge  appeared 
at  first  to  indicate  that  there  existed  a  profound  and 
radical  difference  between  the  behavior  of  positive  and 
negative  electricity,  but  we  shall  see  later  that  these  dif- 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  145 

ferences  now  appear  to  result  from  a  difference  in  the 
size  of  the  carriers  of  the  electric  discharge,  rather  than 
in  the  electricities  themselves. 

At  a  very  low  pressure  of  the  gas  in  the  tube  there  is 
a  very  remarkable  change  in  the  character  of  the  dis 
charge.  A  type  of  radiation  is  emitted  from  the  neg 
ative  electrode  or  cathode  which  travels  in  straight  lines 
and  produces  a  marked  luminosity  in  the  walls  of  the 
tube  and  in  a  number  of  phosphorescent  substances  placed 
in  the  path  of  the  rays.  These  "  cathode  "  rays,  appar 
ently  first  observed  by  Varley  in  1857,  were  investigated 
in  detail  by  Crookes.  Unlike  ordinary  light,  these  rays 
are  readily  bent  from  their  path  by  a  magnetic  field. 
Crookes  supposed  that  they  consisted  of  negatively 
charged  particles  projected  at  a  great  speed  from  the 
cathode,  and,  with  almost  prophetic  insight,  considered 
them  to  be  not  molecules  or  atoms  of  matter  but  as  he 
expressed  it,  "  a  new  or  fourth  state  of  matter."  In  sup 
port  of  his  views,  Crookes  showed  that  the  particles  ex 
erted  a  mechanical  pressure  when  they  impinged  on 
bodies,  and  were  able  to  fuse  a  platinum  plate  exposed 
to  their  bombardment. 

For  a  space  of  nearly  twenty  years  the  true  nature  of 
these  rays  was  a  subject  of  much  controversy.  The 
English  school  adopted  the  material  hypothesis  advo 
cated  by  Crookes,  while  the  Continental  physicists  con- 


146  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

sidered  that  the  rays  were  not  corpuscular  but  consisted 
of  a  special  type  of  wave  motion  in  the  ether. 

A  great  advance  was  made  in  1894  by  Lenard  when 
he  showed  that  the  cathode  rays  were  able  to  penetrate 
matter  opaque  to  ordinary  light,  and  that  the  cathode 
rays  could  be  passed  through  a  thin  window  and  their 
properties  examined  outside  the  vacuum  tube. 

The  discovery  of  the  X-rays  a  little  later  directed  sci 
entific  attention  to  the  great  importance  of  elucidating 
the  true  nature  of  the  cathode  rays.  J.  J.  Thomson,  in 
1897,  succeeded  in  completely  demonstrating  the  general 
correctness  of  the  material  hypothesis  of  Crookes.  The 
cathode  rays  did  in  truth  consist  of  negatively  charged 
particles,  which  moved  in  the  vacuum  tube  at  the  enor 
mous  speed  of  about  fifty  thousand  miles  per  second. 
But  a  most  remarkable  fact  was  brought  to  light.  The 
mass  of  the  particles  of  the  cathode  stream  were  extra 
ordinarily  small,  only  about  i/iooo  of  the  mass  of  the 
hydrogen  atom.  This  was  a  great  advance  for  it  indi 
cated  that  the  atom  was  not  the  smallest  subdivision  of 
matter.  These  "  corpuscles  "  or  "  electrons  "  thus  be 
haved  as  the  bodies  of  smallest  mass  known  to  science. 

J.  J.  Thomson  soon  showed  that  electrons  of  the  same 
small  mass  could  be  produced  from  different  kinds  of 
matter  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Electrons,  for  example,  are 
freely  emitted  from  the  incandescent  carbon  filament  of 
an  electric  lamp ;  they  are  emitted  also  from  a  metal 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  147 

plate  exposed  to  the  action  of  ultraviolet  light.  In  these 
cases  an  external  agent  like  the  electric  discharge,  heat 
or  light  is  required  to  set  free  these  electrons  from  mat 
ter,  but  a  still  further  advance  was  made  when  it  was 
found  that  electrons  of  exactly  the  same  mass  were 
emitted  from  radium  and  other  radioactive  substances 
without  any  external  stimulus.  The  radioactive  bodies 
are  continuously  engaged  in  the  apparently  congenial 
task  of  spontaneously  hurling  electrons  from  their  mass 
with  velocities  much  greater  than  can  be  impressed  on 
the  electrons  set  free  in  a  vacuum  tube.  The  discovery 
of  Zeeman,  coupled  with  the  electronic  theory  of  Lorentz, 
still  further  broadened  the  field  of  application  of  elec 
tronic  theories.  The  verification  of  Lorentz's  predic 
tions  by  Zeeman  showed  that  the  light  waves  must  arise 
from  a  vibrating  or  rotating  electrically  charged  par 
ticle  and  the  comparison  of  theory  with  experiment 
showed  that  the  particle  carried  a  negative  charge  and 
was  of  the  same  small  mass  as  the  electron.  The  elec 
tron  was  thus  shown  to  be  a  constituent  of  all  matter, 
and  it  was  seen  that  the  phenomenon  of  light  arose  from 
the  rapid  movement  of  electrons  within  the  atom. 

We  have  seen  that,  following  the  theories  of  Maxwell, 
attention  was  directed  from  the  current  in  the  wire  to 
the  medium  surrounding  it.  In  these  developments, 
however,  scientific  attention  was  again  concentrated  on 
the  actual  nature  of  the  carriers  of  electricity.  The  dis- 


148  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

charge  of  electricity  through  gases  was  found  to  be  sim 
ply  explained  by  supposing  that  the  electricity  was  car 
ried  by  positively  and  negatively  charged  particles  or 
ions  which  moved  in  opposite  directions  in  an  electric 
field. 

The  discontinuous  structure  of  these  electric  charges 
was  shown  by  making  each  ion  the  center  of  a  visible 
globule  of  water.  The  actual  number  of  these  ions  in 
the  gas  could  be  counted,  and  the  charge  on  the  ion  or 
the  natural  unit  of  electrical  quantity  was  measured.  At 
the  same  time,  J.  J.  Thomson  and  Drude  independently 
attacked  the  difficult  problem  of  the  mode  of  transmis 
sion  of  an  electric  current  through  a  metallic  wire.  It 
was  supposed  that  the  metallic  conductor  contained  a 
large  number  of  free  electrons  carrying  a  negative 
charge  which  could  pass  freely  between  the  atoms  of 
matter.  These  mobile  electrons  were  prevented  from 
escaping  from  the  wire  by  the  attractive  force  of  a  cor 
responding  quantity  of  positive  electricity,  which  was 
carried  by  the  atoms  of  matter.  The  carriers  of  the 
positive  charge  were  either  immobile  or  moved  ex 
tremely  slowly  compared  with  the  electrons.  Under  the 
influence  of  an  electric  field  the  electrons  were  set  in 
motion,  and  were  the  true  carriers  of  the  electric  current. 
This  conception  was  found  to  offer  a  satisfactory  expla 
nation  of  some  of  the  most  recondite  phenomena  shown 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  149 

by  the  passage  of  an  electric  current  through  a  con 
ductor. 

From  the  above  brief  sketch  we  can  see  how  extraor 
dinarily  fertile  the  electronic  conception  has  proved  for 
the  explanation  of  diversified  physical  phenomena.  We 
believe  that  the  electron  is  a  definite  physical  entity 
which  has  an  independent  existence.  It  is  present  in  all 
matter  but  can  be  readily  released  by  a  variety  of  agen 
cies  and  its  properties  studied  apart  from  matter. 

At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  pres 
ence  of  an  electron  can  only  be  detected  when  it  is  in 
rapid  motion,  and  strange  to  say,  the  greater  its  speed 
the  easier  it  is  to  determine  its  properties. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  consider  the  fundamental 
question,  "What  is  an  electron?"  "  Is  it  a  fragment  of 
an  atom  of  matter  carrying  a  negative  charge,  or  is  it 
a  disembodied  electric  charge?"  "What  relation  does 
the  electron  bear  to  the  atom,  which  before  the  advent 
of  the  electron  posed  as  the  fundamental  unit  of  matter?" 

These  fundamental  problems  have  to  some  extent  been 
answered  and  with  remarkable  consequences,  as  we  shall 
see,  in  clarifying  our  conception  of  electricity  and  matter. 

In  order  to  answer  these  questions,  it  is  necessary  first 
of  all  to  consider  what  are  the  effects  to  be  expected 
when  a  small  charged  sphere  is  set  in  motion.  This 
problem  was  first  attacked  by  J.  J.  Thomson  in  1887, 
and  has  later  been  developed  by  Heaviside,  Searle, 


150  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

Lorentz,  Abraham  and  others.  A  moving  charge  acts 
like  an  electric  current,  and  a  magnetic  field  is  produced 
round  the  body  on  which  the  charge  is  distributed.  This 
implies  that  magnetic  energy  is  stored  up  in  the  medium 
surrounding  the  charged  body  and  travels  with  it.  In 
consequence  of  this,  a  charged  body  moving  at  a  definite 
speed  has  more  energy  associated  with  it  than  if  it  were 
uncharged.  Part  of  this  energy  is  the  ordinary  mechan 
ical  kinetic  energy  of  the  body  and  the  rest  is  electro 
magnetic  energy  due  to  the  charge  associated  with  it. 
A  charged  body  thus  behaves  as  if  it  possessed  addi 
tional  or  "  electrical "  mass  in  virtue  of  its  motion. 
Theory  shows  that  this  electrical  mass  is  constant  for 
slow  speeds,  but  increases  rapidly  as  the  velocity  of  the 
body  approaches  that  of  light. 

Now  imagine  that  we  do  away  altogether  with  the 
material  sphere,  which  acts  as  the  carrier  of  the  charge, 
and  consider  the  motion  of  a  charge  of  electricity  dis 
tributed  over  a  small  spherical  surface  but  with  no  mate 
rial  nucleus. 

This  charge  of  electricity  when  in  motion  will  be  sur 
rounded  by  a  magnetic  and  electric  field  which  travels 
with  it.  Energy  is  consequently  associated  with  it.  The 
moving  charge  in  fact  behaves  as  if  it  had  ordinary  mass 
and  has  the  characteristic  property  of  matter,  inertia. 
It  tends  to  resist  any  change  in  the  direction  or  magni 
tude  of  its  motion.  This  mass  will  be  constant  for  small 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  151 

speeds  but  will  increase  for  velocities  approaching  that 
of  light. 

The  question  how  far  the  mass  of  an  electron  results 
from  the  electric  charge  associated  with  it  can  be  put  to 
the  test  of  experiment.  For  this  purpose  it  is  necessary 
to  determine  the  mass  of  the  electron  at  different  speeds, 
and  to  compare  the  results  with  those  to  be  expected 
from  theory.  Radium  is  an  ideal  source  of  electrons 
for  such  experiments,  for  it  expels  electrons  over  a  wide 
range  of  velocity  and  some  of  the  swiftest  have  a  velocity 
equal  to  95  per  cent,  of  that  of  light.  Kaufmann  by  an 
ingenious  method  determined  the  mass  of  the  electrons 
projected  from  radium  at  different  speeds  and  found, 
as  theory  had  anticipated,  that  the  mass  was  not  constant 
but  increased  rapidly  as  the  velocity  of  light  was  ap 
proached.  By  comparison  of  theory  with  experiment, 
he  found  that  the  mass  of  an  electron  was  purely  elec 
trical  in  origin  and  that  there  was  no  necessity  to  suppose 
that  the  charge  was  distributed  on  a  material  nucleus. 
This  was  a  most  important  and  far-reaching  conclusion. 
The  electron  is  not  matter  at  all  in  the  ordinary  sense, 
but  a  disembodied  electrical  charge,  possessing,  however, 
the  characteristic  property  of  mass  in  virtue  of  its  motion. 

But  we  have  seen  that  the  electron  is  a  constituent  of 
all  matter  and  for  ordinary  speeds  has  a  mass  of  about 
i/iooo  of  that  of  the  hydrogen  atom.  The  mass  of  the 
hydrogen  atom  would  thus  be  explained  if  it  consisted 


i52  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

of  a  system  of  a  thousand  whirling  electrons.  This  is 
a  fascinating  idea  and  at  once  offers  an  explanation  of 
mass  which  has  been  such  an  enigma  to  science.  On 
such  views,  matter  consists  of  atoms  which  in  turn  are 
built  up  of  electrons  and  what  we  call  matter  in  reality 
consists  of  a  great  number  of  small  electric  charges  in 
constant  motion.  As  A.  J.  Balfour  epigrammatically 
expressed  it  in  his  presidential  address  to  the  British  As 
sociation  at  Cambridge  in  1904,  "  Matter  is  not  only  ex 
plained  but  it  is  explained  away." 

But  what  is  the  relative  size  of  an  atom  and  its  con 
stituent,  the  electron?  You  will  all  remember  the  image 
employed  by  Lord  Kelvin  that  if  an  orange  were  mag 
nified  to  the  size  of  the  earth  the  atoms  composing  it 
would  be  about  the  size  of  the  orange.  But  the  electron 
in  turn  is  minute  compared  with  the  atom.  If  the  atom 
is  magnified  to  the  size  of  this  Hall,  the  electron  would 
be  smaller  relatively  than  a  pin's  head.  Thus,  if  we 
suppose  that  the  atom  of  hydrogen  is  composed  of  a 
thousand  electrons  in  rapid  motion,  these  will  not  fill 
the  volume  of  the  atom  but  will  merely  occupy  it. 

Although,  as  we  have  seen,  electrons  are  regarded  as 
the  ultimate  units  of  which  the  atoms  of  matter  are  built 
up,  we  know  far  more  about  the  electron  than  the  atom. 
We  can  determine  its  size  and  its  mass  and  predict  its 
behavior  at  any  speed,  and  recent  results  indicate  that 
we  are  in  a  fair  way  to  determine  its  shape. 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  153 

I  must  now  reluctantly  face  the  question  which  I  have 
put  off  as  long  as  possible:  "What  is  positive  electric 
ity?"  for  here  I  recognize  that  I  must  tread  with  cau 
tion.  Science  to-day  has  arrived  at  a  fairly  clear  con 
ception  of  negative  electricity,  but  with  regard  to  posi 
tive,  it  is  unable  to  speak  with  the  same  definiteness.  If 
we  have  a  negative  electron  as  a  carrier  of  negative  elec 
tricity,  it  might  reasonably  be  expected  that  there  should 
exist  a  corresponding  positive  electron.  An  examina 
tion  of  the  carriers  of  positive  electricity  in  a  vacuum 
tube  has,  however,  disclosed  the  fact  that  positive  elec 
tricity  is  always  found  associated  with  bodies  atomic  in 
size,  which  have  several  thousand  times  the  mass  of  the 
negative  carrier  or  electron.  Even  in  radium  and  the 
other  radioactive  bodies,  in  which  the  electrical  proc 
esses  appear  to  be  extremely  fundamental  in  character, 
the  a  particle  or  carrier  of  the  positive  charge  has  a 
mass  about  that  of  the  atom  of  the  rare  gas  helium.  We 
have  no  evidence  at  all  that  a  positive  electron  of  mass 
small  compared  with  the  atom  exists.  A  positively 
charged  ion  is  now  regarded  as  an  atom  or  molecule 
which  has  lost  one  of  its  constituent  electrons,  but  this 
method  of  expression,  in  a  sense,  begs  the  fundamental 
question  of  the  true  character  of  positive  electricity. 

In  order  to  answer  this  question,  it  is  probable  that 
we  must  know  the  exact  connection  which  exists  between 
positive  and  negative  electricity  and  the  medium  or 


154  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

ether.  Larmor  has  supposed  that  the  electron  consists 
of  a  strain  center  in  the  ether,  which  is  transferred 
through  the  medium  in  somewhat  the  same  way  as  a  knot 
can  be  slipped  along  a  rope.  Such  a  theory,  however, 
presupposes  the  existence  of  the  corresponding  and  com 
plementary  positive  electron.  This  difficulty  in  regard 
to  the  difference  between  positive  and  negative  elec 
tricity  is  well  illustrated  by  the  attempts  that  have  been 
made  to  form  a  mechanical  or  rather  electronic  model 
of  the  chemical  atom.  In  a  remarkable  paper  called 
"Aepinus  atomized,"  published  by  Lord  Kelvin  in  1903, 
but  whose  title  I  think  we  might  in  justice  change  to 
"  Franklin  and  Aepinus  Kelvinized,"  Lord  Kelvin 
adopted  the  fundamental  conception  of  the  one  fluid 
theory  of  Franklin,  as  modified  by  Aepinus,  and  applied 
it  to  the  atom  of  matter.  The  atom  was  supposed  to  con 
sist  of  a  number  of  mobile  negatively  charged  particles 
or  electrons,  held  in  equilibrium  by  a  system  of  mutual 
forces,  similar  to  that  devised  by  Aepinus  in  mathemat 
ically  developing  Franklin's  theory.  Since  an  atom  is 
electrically  neutral,  and  must  consist  of  an  equal  quan 
tity  of  positive  and  negative  electricity,  such  a  view  was 
equivalent  to  supposing  that  the  atom  consists  of  a  num 
ber  of  mobile  negative  electrons  embedded  in  a  sphere 
of  positive  electrification.  This  conception  of  atomic 
structure  devised  by  Lord  Kelvin  has  been  still  further 
developed  by  J.  J.  Thomson.  The  latter  has  mathemat- 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ically  investigated  the  properties  of  model  atoms  con 
sisting  of  a  large  number  of  rapidly  revolving  electrons 
held  in  equilibrium  by  their  mutual  repulsions  and  the 
forces  due  to  a  fixed  and  immobile  distribution  of  pos 
itive  electricity.  He  has  shown  that  such  electronic  sys 
tems  imitate  in  a  striking  way  many  of  the  most  funda 
mental  properties  of  the  chemical  atom. 

We  must  here,  however,  content  ourselves  with  only 
a  passing  reference  to  these  brilliant  attempts  to  discover 
the  character  of  atomic  structure. 

We  thus  see  that,  on  modern  views,  positive  electricity 
plays  a  very  minor  role  in  electrical  effects,  compared 
with  the  omnipresent  electron.  The  electrons  are  the 
bricks  of  the  atomic  structure,  while  positive  electricity 
plays  the  humble  but  important  part  of  the  mortar  to 
bind  them  together.  Such  a  division  of  respective  roles 
may  appear  somewhat  arbitrary,  but  it  suffices  for  the 
present  as  the  simplest  method  of  explaining  the  experi 
mental  facts. 

After  a  century  and  a  half  of  great  scientific  activity, 
which  has  added  enormously  to  our  knowledge  of  elec 
tricity,  the  ideas  of  electricity,  which  are  in  vogue  to-day 
bear  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  those  advocated  by 
Franklin  in  the  infancy  of  the  subject.  This  resem 
blance  must  have  been  obvious  to  you  all  in  the  light  of 
the  recent  developments  which  have  been  touched  upon 
in  this  paper.  We  believe  that  there  is  one  kind  of  elec- 


156  RUTHERFORD:  MODERN 

tricity,  namely,  negative  electricity,  which  is  carried  in 
small  definite  units  by  the  electrons.  These  electrons 
are  a  mobile  constituent  of  all  matter  and  are  able  to 
move  freely  through  metals. 

A  negatively  electrified  body  is  one  which  has  more 
than  its  normal  complement  of  electrons,  while  a  pos 
itively  charged  body  is  one  that  has  lost  one  or  more  of  its 
component  electrons.  This  point  of  view  is  remarkably 
analogous  to  that  employed  by  Franklin  in  his  one  fluid 
theory,  with  the  difference  that  negative  electricity  plays 
to-day  the  part  that  he  assigned  to  positive.  The  elec 
trical  fluid  of  Franklin  is  atomic  in  structure,  and  is 
made  up  of  electrons  which  consist  of  actual  disembodied 
electrical  charges.  With  these  alterations,  the  methods 
of  expression  used  by  Franklin  in  discussing  positive  and 
negative  electricity  is  very  similar  to  that  in  use  to-day. 

It  is  certainly  a  remarkable  and  noteworthy  fact  that 
the  theory  of  Franklin  put  forward  at  a  time  when  the 
knowledge  of  electricity  was  of  the  scantiest  character, 
should  have  survived,  even  in  a  modified  form,  during 
a  century  which  has  witnessed  such  an  enormous  in 
crease  in  our  knowledge  of  electricity.  We  must  not, 
in  consequence  of  this  fact,  unduly  exaggerate  the  im 
portance  of  the  contributions  of  Franklin  to  electrical 
knowledge  nor  underestimate  the  fundamental  impor 
tance  and  magnitude  of  the  advances  made  in  electricity 
since  Franklin's  time. 


THEORIES  OF  ELECTRICITY  157 

We  recognize  that  Franklin  possessed  unusual  clear 
ness  of  physical  insight,  but  we  must  refrain  for  that 
reason  from  endowing  him  with  the  uncanny  gift  of 
prophetic  vision. 

With  regard  to  the  question  "  What  is  electricity?" 
so  often  asked  the  scientist  by  the  layman,  science  cannot 
at  present  venture  an  adequate  answer.  Nor  is  this  sur 
prising  when  we  consider  what  a  fundamental  part  elec 
tricity  plays  in  nature.  We  have  seen  that  electricity 
is  a  constituent  of  all  matter,  and,  indeed,  that  what  we 
call  matter  is  electricity  in  motion.  Attempts  have  been 
made  to  explain  electricity  as  a  manifestation  of  the  uni 
versal  medium  or  ether,  but  until  we  know  more  of  the 
properties  of  the  ether,  such  theories  must  of  necessity 
lack  physical  definiteness.  Even  if  we  may  ultimately 
explain  electricity  in  terms  of  the  ether,  there  remains 
the  still  more  fundamental  problem,  "  What  is  the 
ether?"  An  attempt  to  explain  such  fundamental  con 
ceptions  seems  of  necessity  to  end  in  metaphysical  sub- 
tilties. 


THE   UNIVERSITY  OF   PENNSYLVANIA 
CONFERRING  OF  HONORARY  DEGREES 

[In  The  American  Academy  of  Music,  Thursday,  April  19.] 

After  the  Academic  procession  had  entered  the  Audi 
torium,  prayer  was  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Mackay- 
Smith,  Episcopal  Bishop-Coadjutor  of  the  Diocese  of 
Pennsylvania. 

"Alma  Mater"  was  then  sung. 

The  Class  of  1906,  College,  through  its  President, 
Mr.  A.  R.  Ludlow,  presented  a  memorial  tablet  to 
Franklin,  to  be  placed  on  the  wall  of  the  Houston  Club, 
and  it  was  received  by  Vice-Provost  Edgar  F.  Smith, 
in  behalf  of  the  University  and  the  Houston  Club. 

"  Ben  Franklin  "  was  then  sung. 

CONFERRING  OF  HONORARY  DEGREES 

The  candidates  were  presented  by  Wharton  Sinkler, 
M.D.,  Samuel  F.  Houston,  Joseph  B.  Townsend,  Jr., 
and  George  H.  Frazier,  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

The  degrees  were  conferred  by  Provost  Harrison  in 
the  following  words: 

EDGAR  F.  SMITH  —  President  of  the  American  Philo 
sophical  Society.  Worthy  successor  of  Franklin,  Ritten- 
house,  Jefferson,  Bache.  Eminent  chemist;  distinguished 

(159) 


160          THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

for  his  original  work  upon  Electrolysis.  Vice-Provost 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Humane.  Beloved 
of  God  and  men.  —  LL.D. 

WILLIAM  BERRYMAN  SCOTT — Interpreter  of  world 
changes.  Historian  of  the  rocks  and  of  past  forms  of 
life.  Traveler  over  many  lands,  without  the  aid  of  the 
physicist;  at  times,  however,  using  him,  but  not  in  ac 
cord  with  him.  Lineal  descendant  of  Franklin,  and 
agreeing  with  him  that  sense  is  preferable  to  sound. 
Distinguished  professor  of  geology  and  palaeontology 
at  Princeton  University.  —  LL.D. 

EDWARD  CHARLES  PICKERING — Professor  of  astron 
omy  and  director  of  the  Harvard  College  Observatory. 
:<  It  was  on  no  earthly  shore  his  soul  beheld  the  vision," 
but  with  reverent  observation  the  stars  in  their  courses 
have  been,  through  him,  a  light  to  us  from  pole  to  pole. 
Student  of  the  relation  of  stellar  distance  to  the  inten 
sity  of  illumination.  Distinguished  founder  of  the  first 
physical  laboratory  in  America.  —  LL.D. 

HUGO  DE  VRIES — King  of  the  plant  world.  Foremost 
investigator.  Research  contributor  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  physiology,  heredity  and  cross-breeding  of  the  vege 
table  kingdom.  Distinguished  over  two  continents  for 
his  publications  upon  species  variation.  Professor  of 
plant  anatomy  and  physiology  at  the  University  of 
Amsterdam.  —  LL.D. 


CONFERRING  OF  HONORARY  DEGREES          161 

ALBERT  A.  MICHELSON — Head  professor  of  physics 
in  the  University  of  Chicago.  To-day  considered  among 
the  foremost  physicists  in  the  United  States.  Noted  espe 
cially  for  his  mathematical  and  experimental  contribu 
tions  upon  the  nature  and  properties  of  light.  —  LL.D. 

ERNEST  RUTHERFORD  —  McDonald  professor  of  phys 
ics  at  McGill  University,  Montreal.  First  of  the  physi 
cists  of  Canada.  Doubtless  the  leading  authority  in  the 
world  upon  radio-activity,  the  latest  and  most  important 
development  in  physical  science.  —  LL.D. 

EDWARD  LEAMINGTON  NICHOLS — Especially  noted 
for  his  investigations  on  radiation  and  upon  matter  at 
low  temperature.  His  researches  have  shed  light  upon 
the  strange  property  of  certain  substances  to  become 
self-luminous  by  day  or  by  night.  Professor  of  physics 
at  Cornell  University.  —  LL.D. 

WILLIAM  KEITH  BROOKS — Distinguished  for  his  bi 
ological  exploration  of  our  Atlantic  Coast  and  of  the 
West  Indies;  for  the  depth  of  his  contributions  to  marine 
zoology;  for  his  permanent  studies  in  heredity  and  evo 
lution  and  for  his  classical  and  philosophical  essays 
thereon.  Professor  of  zoology  at  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University.  —  LL.D. 

WILLIAM  PATERSON  PATERSON — Professor  of  divinity 
in  Edinburgh  University  and  sometime  professor  of 


1 62 

systematic  theology  at  Aberdeen.  Welcome  to  the  privi 
leges  of  a  son  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  From 
Aberdeen  came  Pennsylvania's  first  Provost;  from  Edin 
burgh,  our  Medical  School — whose  emblem  has  always 
been  the  thistle.  Sincere  teacher  of  the  knowledge  of 
things  divine;  comprehended  briefly  in  that  undying 
question:  "  What  does  the  Lord  require  but  to  do  justly 
and  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly."  -LL.D. 

HENDRIK  ANTOON  LORENTZ  —  Facile  Princeps 
amongst  the  physicists  of  Holland,  and  peer  of  any  of 
his  scientific  associates  upon  the  continent  of  Europe. 
Noted  especially  for  his  work  on  mathematical  physics 
and  upon  the  "  Electron  Theory."  Professor  of  mathe 
matical  physics  in  the  University  of  Leiden.  Represen 
tative  of  the  Batavian  Society  for  Experimental  Philos 
ophy,  of  Rotterdam,  of  which  Franklin  himself  was  a 
member.  —  LL.D. 

ALOIS  BRANDL — Professor  of  philology  in  the  Uni 
versity  of  Berlin.  Representative  of  the  University  of 
Berlin,  and  of  the  Prussian  Academy  of  Sciences.  Shakes- 
perean  scholar.  Student  of  "  the  nature  and  history  of 
man  as  disclosed  by  speech."  His  personality  as  charm 
ing  as  his  scholarship.  —  LL.D. 

SIR  GEORGE  HOWARD  DARWIN — Distinguished  son  of 
an  illustrious  father.  Astronomer  and  mathematician. 
Plumian  Professor  of  astronomy  and  experimental  phi- 


CONFERRING  OF  HONORARY  DEGREES  163 

losophy  at  the  University  of  Cambridge,  England.  Stu 
dent  of  the  effects  of  tidal  friction  upon  the  earth  and 
moon.  The  name  and  fame  of  father  and  son  will  en 
dure  until  "  Tideless  sleep  the  seas  of  time!"-  -LL.D. 

WILLIAM  P.  HENSZEY — Theoretical  and  practical 
engineer.  Notable  for  his  contributions  to  civilization, 
through  his  scientific  work  in  the  evolution  of  the  mod 
ern  American  locomotive.  Of  great  judgment  and  fore 
sight  in  the  solution  of  difficult  mechanical  problems. 
Through  his  efforts  all  the  world  becomes  akin.  —  Sc.D. 

JAMES  GAYLEY — Noted  for  his  contributions  to  the 
advancement  of  the  science  of  analytical  chemistry. 
Metallurgist.  Combining  in  himself,  in  the  highest  de 
gree,  the  rare  qualities  of  scientific  knowledge,  and  the 
power  of  transmuting  this  knowledge  into  practical  re 
sults.  Distinguished  alumnus  and  trustee  of  Lafayette 
College.  — LL.D. 

HAMPTON  L.  CARSON — Able  student.  Master  of 
legal,  historical,  constitutional  and  political  science. 
Great  power  of  orderly  massing  of  facts.  Attorney- 
General  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  Loyal 
and  devoted  son  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.— 
LL.D. 

JOHN  WILLIAM  MALLET — Distinguished  chemist  of 
the  University  of  Virginia,  founded  by  Thomas  Jeffer- 


164          THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

son,  one  time  President  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society.  Happy  coincidence  of  the  meeting  of  the  chief 
chemist  of  the  University  founded  by  Jefferson  and  of 
the  chief  chemist  of  the  University  founded  by  Franklin 
-truly  notable  ancestors.  His  activity  as  chemist 
upon  the  scene  of  war  has  been  devoted  to  the  more 
faithful  application  of  his  great  energy  in  the  ways  of 
peace.  —  LL.D. 

In  Absentia — GUGLIELMO  MARCONI  —  Investigator, 
theoretical  engineer,  inventor.  Born  under  the  shadow 
of  that  ancient  university,  Bologna,  in  the  land  where 
dwells  the  Eternal  City.  Postmaster-General  for  thou 
sands  who  "  go  down  upon  the  sea  in  ships,"  and  soon 
for  the  world.  —  LL.D. 

SAMUEL  DICKSON  —  Chancellor  of  the  Law  Associa 
tion  of  Philadelphia.  Learned  in  the  law.  Fit  suc 
cessor  of  Tilghman,  Rawle,  Ingersoll,  Hopkinson  and 
Sergeant — all  College  graduates,  as  he,  of  the  Univer 
sity  of  Pennsylvania.  Independent  thinker.  —  LL.D. 

ANDREW  CARNEGIE — Lord  Rector  of  the  University 
of  St.  Andrews.  Thou  hast  sought  and  thou  hast  found; 
thou  hast  knocked  and  it  hath  been  opened  unto  thee; 
thou  hast  given  of  what  thou  hast  received.  World 
benefactor.  —  LL.D. 


CONFERRING  OF  HONORARY  DEGREES          165 

EDWARD   VII  —  King,   Defender  of   the    Faith,    Em 
peror  of  India — Represented  by  the  person  of  his  Am 
bassador  [Sir  Henry  Mortimer  Durand,  '05  LL.D.]- 
LL.D. 

At  the  Court  of  St.  James,  upon  the  i2th  day  of  Au 
gust,  1763,  His  Majesty  King  George  II  being  present 
at  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty  in  Council,  it  was 
ordered  that  the  Right  Honourable  the  Lord  High 
Chancellor  of  Great  Britain  do  cause  Letters  Patent  to 
be  prepared  and  passed  under  the  Great  Seal,  authoriz 
ing  the  first  Provost,  William  Smith,  to  collect  funds 
from  all  well-disposed  persons  for  the  assistance  and 
benefit  of  the  College,  Academy  and  Charitable  School 
in  Philadelphia;  and  upon  the  Qth  day  of  April,  1764, 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  together  with  Thomas 
and  Richard  Penn,  addressed  a  joint  letter  to  the  Trus 
tees  of  the  College,  congratulating  them  upon  the  great 
success  which  had  attended  the  efforts  of  the  first  Pro 
vost,  through  His  Majesty's  Royal  Brief. 

The  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania — the 
successors  of  the  Trustees  of  the  same  Foundation — bear 
ing  in  mind  the  interest  which  His  Majesty,  the  then 
King  of  England,  so  graciously  showed  in  the  infant 
Institution  in  the  Colony  of  Pennsylvania,  now  confer 
upon  His  Majesty,  Edward  VII,  impersonating  Eng 
land,  the  highest  Degree  in  their  power  to  bestow. 


1 66         THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

"  England, — 

"  This  royal  throne  of  kings,  this  sceptred  isle, 
This  earth  of  majesty,  this  seat  of  Mars. 
This  other  Eden,  demi-paradise ; 
This  fortress,  built  by  nature  for  herself, 
Against  infection,  and  the  hand  of  war; 
This  happy  breed  of  men,  this  little  world; 
This  precious  stone  set  in  the  silver  sea, 
Which  serves  it  in  the  office  of  a  wall, 
Or,  as  a  moat  defensive  to  a  house, 
Against  the  envy  of  less  happier  lands; 
This  blessed  plot,  this  earth,  this  realm,  this  England." 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN 
AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

BY  THE  HON.  HAMPTON  L.  CARSON, 

Attorney-General  of  Pennsylvania. 

[Address  delivered  in  The  American  Academy  of  Music,  Thursday,  April   19] 

Mr.  Provost,  Members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 

University    of    Pennsylvania,    Distinguished    Guests, 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

On  a  Sunday  morning  in  October,  one  hundred  and 
eighty-three  years  ago,  there  entered  this  city  —  then  a 
town  of  about  six  thousand  inhabitants  —  an  unwashed, 
footsore  lad  —  a  printer's  runaway  boy.  His  only  change 
of  clothing  was  thrust  into  his  pockets,  and  he  munched 
a  roll  as  he  walked  up  High  street.  He  was  without  a 
friend  and  was  four  hundred  miles  from  home.  The 
place  of  his  birth  and  the  harbor  he  had  chosen  were 
then  inconsiderable  clearings  in  a  wilderness  which 
stretched  to  the  westward  for  three  thousand  miles,  un 
known  to  history  and  almost  unknown  to  geography. 

Sixty-seven  years  later,  his  body  was  borne  to  the 
grave,  preceded  by  the  clergy  of  all  denominations.  His 
pall  was  carried  by  Governor  Mifflin,  Chief  Justice 
McKean,  and  the  President  of  the  Bank,  Samuel  Powell, 


1 68  CARSON:    FRANKLIN 

the  aristocratic  and  wealthy  Mr.  Bingham,  and  David 
Rittenhouse,  the  astronomer.  His  hearse  was  followed 
by  the  Secretary  and  Members  of  the  Supreme  Execu 
tive  Council,  by  the  Speaker  and  Members  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly,  the  Judges  of  the  Courts  and  other  offi 
cers  of  the  Governmnt,  the  Bar,  the  Mayor  and  Cor 
poration  of  the  City,  the  printers  and  journeymen  and 
apprentices,  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  the 
College  of  Physicians,  the  Cincinnati,  the  College  of 
Philadelphia,  and  numerous  trade  and  civic  associations, 
while  twenty  thousand  people  attended  and  witnessed 
the  ceremony  of  interment.  Beyond  the  Atlantic  Mira- 
beau  pronounced  his  eulogy  before  the  National  Assem 
bly  of  France,  and  the  Abbe  Sieyes,  the  President,  ad 
dressed  a  letter  of  condolence  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  His  mortal  remains  sleep  beneath  a  plain 
marble  slab  rising  but  a  few  inches  from  the  ground, 
with  the  simple  inscription,  "  Benjamin  Franklin." 

In  a  few  hours  this  distinguished  audience  will  assem 
ble  at  his  grave.  "Si  monumentum  requiris,  circum- 
spice." 

Who  can  question  the  greatness  of  this  man?  He 
meets  the  definition  of  Emerson  that  "  He  is  truly  great 
who  is  what  he  is  from  nature,  and  who  never  reminds 
us  of  others."  What  man  in  all  the  centuries,  Christian 
or  pagan,  resembles  Franklin?  Of  whom  does  he  re 
mind  us?  Take  him  in  the  astonishing  aggregate  of  his 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA      169 

many  parts,  divide  his  character  into  sections,  and  anal 
yze  each,  and  what  result  do  you  find  which  has  its 
exact  counterpart,  or  which  suggests  that  it  is  but  a 
fac  simile  of  that  which  made  another  man  famous  or 
successful?  We  may  speak  of  industry,  sobriety,  fru 
gality,  punctuality,  intelligence,  inventiveness,  economy, 
prudence,  ambition,  wit,  humor,  culture,  style,  courage, 
patriotism,  judgment,  sagacity,  firmness,  dignity,  sim 
plicity,  knowledge,  sympathy  and  foresight,  all  of  which 
go  to  make  up  the  business  man,  the  author,  the  citizen, 
the  statesman,  the  philosopher  and  the  sage — but,  after 
all,  these  are  generic  terms.  We  are  familiar  with  them 
in  reading  or  in  daily  contact  with  living  men,  and  can 
point  to  a  thousand  instances  of  each,  but  of  all  these 
traits  in  human  nature,  there  is  a  distinct  species  which 
is  peculiar  to  Franklin  and  to  him  alone,  while  in  the 
strange  totality  of  attributes  he  is  abnormal  and  colossal. 
Others,  it  is  true,  have  been  industrious,  intelligent, 
inventive  and  economical,  but  with  all  the  remarkable 
lads  in  mind  that  you  have  known,  whether  from  actual 
acquaintance  or  from  books,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
this  seventh  son  in  a  family  of  ten  brothers  and  sisters 
and  six  half  brothers  and  sisters,  who  was  deprived  of 
schooling  at  the  end  of  a  year,  who  dipped  candles  and 
set  wicks,  and  whose  mind  fed  on  Bunyan,  DeFoe, 
Plutarch,  Locke,  Burton's  Historical  Collections,  Cotton 
Mather,  and  controversial  theological  tracts,  was  a  very 


CARSON:   FRANKLIN 

uncommon  boy.  He  drew  the  strength  of  his  body 
from  a  sturdy  race  of  blacksmiths  on  his  father's  side, 
and  the  strength  of  his  mind  from  a  remarkable  mother, 
the  daughter  of  "  a  learned  and  godly  Englishman,"  an 
adept  in  Indian  languages,  a  skilled  surveyor,  and  the 
courageous  enemy  of  persecution. 

He  was  indeed  fortunate  in  obtaining  employment  so 
soon  after  his  arrival,  but  there  must  have  been  some 
thing  engaging  in  his  manners  and  trustworthy  in  his 
countenance  to  account  for  his  having  met  and  capti 
vated  the  Governor,  Sir  William  Keith,  within  a  month, 
for  whose  subsequent  perfidy  he  was  in  no  way  respon 
sible.  After  two  or  three  false  starts  he  became  a  well- 
known  printer,  editor,  compiler,  publisher,  bookseller, 
bookbinder  and  stationer.  He  made  lamp  black  and 
ink,  dealt  in  rags,  and  sold  soap  and  live  geese  feathers. 
He  became  a  burgess,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  a  clerk 
of  the  General  Assembly,  Postmaster  General,  the 
Colonel  of  a  regiment,  and  studied  French,  Spanish  and 
Italian.  As  he  prospered  in  business,  he  rose  in  the 
public  esteem  and  projected  plans  for  public  improve 
ment.  Until  he  came,  the  sidewalks  were  unpaved,  the 
streets  were  unlighted,  the  fire  brigade  had  no  existence, 
the  night  watch  was  unknown,  the  town  was  without 
a  library,  without  a  hospital,  without  a  college,  without 
a  philosophical  society;  houses  were  cold  until  he  gave 
them  stoves,  chimneys  smoked  until  he  cured  them,  de- 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA      171 

structive  fires  raged  until  he  tamed  the  lightning,  and 
ships  tossed  in  danger  until  he  cast  oil  upon  the  waves. 
Wherever  he  was  present,  weighty  matters  were  dis 
cussed  and  projects  moved.  He  thought,  he  spoke,  he 
wrote,  he  acted.  He  did  things  and  inspired  others  to 
do  them.  With  Lord  Bacon  he  believed  that  a  good 
motion  never  dies.  No  matter  what  the  meeting  he 
attended,  whether  composed  of  business  men,  doctors  of 
medicine,  philosophers  or  politicians,  he  was  always 
chosen  President  or  Chairman. 

He  was  Socraticin  his  method  of  reasoning;  but,  he  was 
eminently  practical  and  not  metaphysical.  He  imitated 
Addison  in  his  style;  but  what  essay  of  Addison's  resem 
bles  the  speech  of  "  Father  Abraham"?  It  is  in  large  part 
a  collection  of  other  men's  sayings  and  of  ancient  saws; 
but  Franklin  made  the  collection  and  cut  the  diamonds. 
He  improved  on  Sydney  when  he  said  "God  helps  those 
who  help  themselves."  He  improved  on  Bishop  Home 
when  he  said  "Sloth  eats  more  than  rust,"  and  "The 
used  key  is  always  bright."  He  improved  on  Ben 
Johson  when  he  said  "  Keep  thy  shop  and  thy  shop  will 
keep  thee,"  and  he  added  as  his  own,  "  He  that  riseth 
late  must  trot  all  day,  therefore  drive  thy  business,  let  it 
not  drive  thee."  Poor  Richard's  Almanac  illustrates  Sir 
John  Russell's  definition  of  a  proverb — "The  wisdom 
of  many  but  the  wit  of  one."  Was  there  ever  a  better 
description  of  the  dignity  of  labor  than  "A  plowman 


172  CARSON:    FRANKLIN 

on  his  legs  is  higher  than  a  gentleman  on  his  knees"? 
Or  anything  truer  than  "The  eye  of  a  master  will  do 
more  work  than  both  his  hands"? 

He  infused  humor  into  practical  citizenship.  During 
the  administration  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  the  trans 
portation  of  convicts  to  this  country  was  regarded  as  a 
very  great  grievance.  Franklin  wrote  to  the  Minister 
the  thanks  of  the  colonists  for  the  maternal  care  of 
Britain  so  strongly  manifested  in  this  instance,  and  as 
a  satisfactory  proof  of  American  gratitude  sent  him  a 
collection  of  rattlesnakes,  which  he  advised  him  to 
introduce  into  His  Majesty's  Gardens  at  Kew,  so  that 
they  might  propagate  and  increase,  assuring  him  that 
they  would  be  as  beneficial  to  His  Majesty's  English 
dominions  as  the  British  rattlesnake  convicts  had  been 
to  America. 

When  difficulties  arose  among  the  members  of  the 
Continental  Congress  as  to  how  they  should  communi 
cate  to  the  soldiers  of  Sir  William  Howe  the  principles 
for  which  the  Continental  army  was  fighting,  Franklin 
had  copies  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  printed 
in  English  and  German  and  wrapped  around  packages 
of  tobacco,  which  were  distributed  by  farmers  and  fisher 
men  in  the  British  and  Hessian  camps.  When  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  being  signed,  Charles 
Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  is  said  to  have  remarked,  "We 
must  be  unanimous  about  this;  we  must  all  hang  to- 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA      173 

gether."  "Yes,"  said  Franklin,  "or  we  will  hang  sepa 
rately."  In  fact,  it  is  asserted  that  the  reason  why 
Jefferson  and  not  Franklin  was  chosen  to  write  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  because  solemn  John 
Adams  dreaded  that  he  would  put  in  a  joke. 

It  was  his  scientific  reputation  and  his  invention  of 
the  lightning  rod,  together  with  his  well-known  per 
sistency  of  purpose,  that  converted  the  following  inci 
dent  into  an  epigram.  An  English  philosopher  insisted 
that  blunt  conductors  were  the  only  safe  ones.  King 
George  the  Third,  as  though  disdaining  to  owe  his 
safety  to  the  invention  of  an  enemy,  during  the  war  put 
balls  upon  the  rods  on  the  palace,  and  persisted  in  this, 
notwithstanding  the  protest  of  the  Royal  Society.  A 
wag  then  wrote: 

"  While  you,  King  George,  for  safety  hunt, 
And  sharp  conductors  change  for  blunt, 

The  nation's  out  of  joint ; 
Franklin  a  wiser  course  pursues; 
And  all  your  thunder  fearless  views 
By  sticking  to  the  point." 

He  was  arithmetical  in  his  demonstration  to  Dr. 
Priestley  that  the  colonies  could  not  be  subdued,  by 
writing  after  the  action  at  Bunker  Hill,  "Britain  at  the 
expense  of  three  millions,  has  killed  one  hundred  and 
fifty  Yankees,  this  campaign.  During  the  same  time 


174  CARSON:    FRANKLIN 

sixty  thousand  children  have  been  born.  From  these 
data,  the  mathematical  head  of  our  dear,  good  friend, 
Dr.  Price,  will  easily  calculate  the  time  and  expense  that 
may  be  necessary  to  kill  us  all.  Tell  him,  as  he  has 
sometimes  doubts  and  despondencies  about  our  firm 
ness,  that  America  is  determined  and  unanimous." 

These  instances  illustrate  his  methods  of  influencing 
men,  and  are  enlivened  by  his  characteristic  humor,  but 
he  was  never  regarded  as  a  trifler.     When  Lord  Chat 
ham  consulted  him  about  his  plan  of  conciliation,  the 
noble  earl  said,   "  I   pay  you  these  visits,   that  I   may 
rectify  my  judgment  by  yours,  as  men  do  their  watches 
by  a  regulator."     He  had  a  serious  side  born  of  con 
viction  and  supported  by  determined  courage.     At  crit 
ical  moments  he  bore  himself  with  a  dignity  that  was 
sublime.     His  creed  was  based  upon  adamantine  faith 
in  the  rights  of  the  people.     He  had  a  penetrating  eye, 
and  saw  into  the  hearts  of  men  as  clearly  as  into  the 
truths  of  nature.     He  read  motives  and  scrutinized  sys 
tems  of  government,  and  analyzed  statutes  and  measures 
with  a  vision  as  searching  and  a  purpose   as  lofty  as 
Hershel  with  his  telescope  studied  the  stars.     He  saw 
farther  into  the  true  province   and  business   of  a  free 
government  and  the  duties  and  just  limits  of  the  powers 
of  rulers  than  any  man  of  his  time.     Lacking  original 
constructive    power   he    never    failed    in    detecting    the 
weaknesses  or  inconsistencies  of  a  government  and  indi- 


175 

cated  with  unerring  finger  the  point  of  divergence  from 
the  principles  of  eternal  truth.  He  saw  that  what  a 
government  had  to  do,  whether  of  a  colony  or  of  a 
nation,  was  to  restrain  its  citizens  from  invading  each 
others  rights,  and  compel  them  to  respect  each  others 
freedom.  This  was  the  keynote  of  his  long  struggle 
against  the  Proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania,  and  made  his 
heart  so  brave  and  his  eye  so  quick  and  his  guard  so 
true.  He  fought  the  same  fight  that  David  Lloyd  had 
waged  and  stood  on  the  same  basic  principles  for  which 
Pym  had  thundered  and  Hampden  died.  He  refused 
to  let  Logan's  sophistries  confuse  his  head  or  the  Pro 
prietary  interest  seduce  his  faith.  He  stood  forth  as 
Democracy  incarnate.  He  never  lost  his  grasp  upon 
chartered  rights  and  never  bowed  the  neck  or  bent  the 
knee.  It  was  this  spirit  that  made  him  the  trusted  rep 
resentative  of  the  Colonies  in  England,  and  sustained 
him  in  noble  silence  when  ribaldry  and  abuse  were 
rained  upon  his  brow.  His  character  was  unscorched 
by  the  cry  of  "Thief,"  and  the  burning  letters  "FUR" 
which  were  hissed  at  him  by  Wedderburn  were  trans 
formed  by  the  magic  of  French  divination  into  "VIR." 
In  the  gayest  of  ancient  capitals,  surrounded  by  states 
men,  courtiers,  savants  and  flatterers,  he  was  the  favorite 
of  royalty,  but  remained  an  untainted  American.  As  a 
statesman  he  wrote  his  name  beneath  the  Albany  Plan 
of  Union,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  French 


176  CARSON:    FRANKLIN 

Alliance,  the  Treaty  of  Peace  and  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  thus  aiding  more  than  any  other  man 
in  building  the  national  temple  from  foundation  to 
capstone.  His  life  was  so  prolonged  that  after  standing 
by  the  cradle,  he  witnessed  the  marriage  of  American 
liberty  to  Constitutional  law.  While  writhing  with  the 
pangs  of  death,  he  stretched  forth  a  withered  hand  to 
pluck  the  poisonous  serpent  of  slavery  from  the  bosom 
of  the  land  he  loved. 

The  basis  of  his  character  was  like  the  bedrock  of 
a  mountain.  In  its  breadth,  its  depth  and  its  solidity, 
he  was  unapproached  by  any  man  of  his  day  and  by 
few  men  of  any  time.  His  intellect  was  of  that  vast 
and  comprehensive  order  which  entitles  him  to  rank 
with  Bacon  and  Locke,  with  Newton  and  Boyle.  With 
him,  "  Knowledge  was  not  a  couch  whereon  to  rest  a 
searching  and  restless  spirit;  or  a  terrace  for  a  wander 
ing  and  variable  mind  to  walk  up  and  down  with  a  fair 
prospect;  or  a  tower  of  state  for  a  proud  mind  to  raise 
itself  upon;  or  a  sort  of  commanding  ground  for  strife 
and  contention;  or  a  shop  for  profit  and  sale;  but  a 
rich  storehouse  for  the  glory  of  the  Creator  and  the 
relief  of  man's  estate."  He  illustrated  the  saying  of 
Solomon  that  "a  wise  man  is  strong;  yea,  a  man  of 
knowledge  increaseth  strength."  He  framed  every 
action  and  plan  for  the  safety  of  the  state  and  the  eleva 
tion  of  her  sons,  with  a  reference  to  the  unchanging 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA       177 

decisions  of  the  Day  of  Judgment.  He  saw  that  of  all 
sorts  of  tyranny,  the  most  insupportable  was  ignorance; 
that  of  all  injustice,  the  greatest  was  that  of  neglect  of 
youth;  that  of  all  follies,  the  rankest  was  that  of  indif 
ference  to  the  future.  He  looked  beyond  and  beneath 
the  varied  phenomena  of  the  present  and  he  saw  the 
transformation  of  the  open  country  into  a  town;  the 
conversion  of  farms  into  town  lots,  the  rise  of  wharves 
and  yards  and  factories;  the  erection  of  workmen's 
houses;  the  coming  of  the  usual  accessories  to  supply 
the  calls  of  the  population,  merchants,  traders,  me 
chanics,  butchers,  bakers,  grocers,  and  he  saw  towns  con 
verted  into  counties,  and  counties  into  states,  and  states 
into  a  nation,  and  a  nation  into  a  unit  in  the  great  con 
federacy  of  the  world.  Were  citizens  to  be  an  aggre 
gation  of  untrained  animals,  or  highly  trained  and 
educated  men?  Hence  he  was  led  to  his  Proposals 
Relating  to  the  Education  of  Youth. 

Out  of  these  proposals,  conceived  in  the  spirit  of 
Defoe's  Essay  upon  Projects,  which  he  had  read  when 
a  boy  of  twelve,  and  modestly  stated  as  the  act  of  "some 
publick  spirited  gentlemen,"  avoiding  as  much  as  he 
could,  according  to  his  usual  rule,  the  presenting  him 
self  to  the  "publick"  as  the  author  of  any  scheme  for 
their  benefit,  came  the  academy  which  was  incorporated 
by  Thomas  and  Richard  Penn,  proprietors  and  gover 
nors  of  the  province,  on  the  thirteenth  of  July,  1753, 
13 


1 78  CARSON:    FRANKLIN 

under  the  name  of  "The  Trustees  of  the  Academy  and 
Charitable  School  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania." 
A  confirmatory  Charter  was  granted  in  June,  1755- 
contributions  were  obtained  in  Great  Britain,  and  grants 
of  land  from  the  proprietaries  through  the  exertions  of 
the  First  Provost,  Dr.  William  Smith,  augmented  by 
gifts  of  the  Assembly.  Then  followed  a  long  and  bitter 
struggle  which  grew  out  of  and  formed  an  important 
part  of  the  political  conflicts  of  the  day.  It  was  inevit 
able  that  Franklin  and  Dr.  Smith  should  clash  so  long 
as  Proprietary  rule  prevailed.  The  academy  felt  the 
weight  of  Revolutionary  displeasure,  and  neither  the 
patronage  of  the  Penns  nor  the  favors  of  the  crown 
could  aid  it.  While  Franklin  was  in  France,  an  act  of 
confiscation  was  passed,  and  in  1779  a  new  institution 
arose  which  became  known  as  "The  University."  After 
Franklin's  return,  the  act  of  spoliation  was  redressed, 
and  in  1789  so  much  of  the  former  act  as  took  away  the 
estates  and  franchises  of  the  college  was  repealed  upon 
the  ground  that  it  was  "  repugnant  to  justice,  a  violation 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  dan 
gerous  in  its  precedent  to  all  incorporated  bodies."  It 
was  found  impracticable  to  sustain  two  institutions  with 
like  purposes  —  a  meeting  was  held  at  Franklin's  home 
but  a  few  months  before  his  death  —  all  differences  were 
adjusted,  and  in  September,  1791,  the  college  and  the 
university  were  united  on  a  lasting  basis  under  the  name 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA      179 

of  "The  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania." 
The  Governor  of  the  State  was  made  ex-officio  a  mem 
ber  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  an  annual  statement 
of  the  funds  was  to  be  laid  before  the  legislature.  Thus 
were  the  dreams  and  ambition  of  Franklin  —  the  founder 
-realized  by  a  redemption  of  the  pledge  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  1776  that  "all  useful  learning  shall  be  duly 
encouraged  and  promoted  in  one  or  more  universities." 

In  his  autobiography  Franklin  refers  in  moderate 
terms,  but  with  conscious  pride,  to  his  association  with 
the  University.  He  says,  "  I  have  been  continued  one  of 
its  Trustees  from  the  beginning,  now  near  forty  years, 
and  have  had  the  very  great  pleasure  of  seeing  a  number 
of  the  youth  who  have  received  their  education  in  it 
distinguished  by  their  improved  abilities,  serviceable 
in  public  stations  and  ornaments  to  their  country." 

In  calling  the  bead  roll  of  distinguished  names  related 
to  the  institution,  either  as  teachers,  trustees  or  gradu 
ates,  it  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  note  that  of  the  class  of 
1757  there  was  Benjamin  West,  the  painter,  the  founder 
of  the  Royal  Academy  and  its  President  from  1792  to 
1815;  that  nearly  one  sixth  of  the  signers  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  were  University  of  Pennsylvania 
men.  Franklin  was  the  founder  and  a  trustee;  James 
Wilson  was  a  trustee  and  a  professor;  Benjamin  Rush 
was  a  professor;  Robert  Morris,  James  Smith,  Thomas 
McKean  and  George  Clymer  were  trustees;  and  Francis 


i8o  CARSON:   FRANKLIN 

Hopkinson   and  William   Paca  were   graduates.     John 
Nixon,  who  was  the  first  to  read  publicly  the  Declara 
tion  to  the  people,  was  a  trustee.     Among  the  framers 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  Sates,  the  names  of 
Franklin,  Wilson,   Morris   and   Clymer  reappear  with 
those  of  Thomas  Mifflin,  Jared  Ingersoll,  Thomas  Fit- 
zimmons,  Trustees,  and  Hugh  Williamson,  who  was  a 
professor  of  mathematics.    Of  the  Continental  Congress, 
there  were  two  presidents,  Mifflin  and  McKean;  Duche, 
the  first  chaplain,  was  the  professor  of  oratory  and  a 
trustee,  while  of  the  members  who  were  graduates,  there 
were  Andrew  Allen,   William   Bingham   and   Richard 
Peters  of  Pennsylvania,   Philemon  Dickinson  of  Dela 
ware,  Henry  Marchant  of  Rhode  Island,  Whitmel  Hill 
of    North    Carolina,    William    Grayson    of    Virginia, 
Joshua  Seney  of  Maryland,  John  Neilson  and  Jonathan 
Dickinson  Sergeant  of  New  Jersey.     The  second  chap 
lain  to  the  Continental  Congress  was  William  White, 
a  graduate  of  the  class  of  1765,  first  bishop  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  presiding  bishop  of  the  Episcopal   Church 
of  the  United  States  from  1796  to  1836;  of  soldiers  in 
the  Continental  Army,  there  were  General  Peter  Gabriel 
Muhlenburg   of    the   class   of    1763,   who   stripped   his 
clerical  gown  from  his  shoulders  in  the  pulpit  to  reveal 
his    uniform    to    astonished    eyes;    General    John    Cad- 
walader,  a  trustee,  who  fought  a  duel  with  Conway,  the 
head  of  the  Conway  cabal  against  Washington;  Colonel 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA      181 

Lambert  Cadwalader,  of  the  class  of  1760,  and  Tench 
Tilghman  of  the  class  of  1761,  military  secretary  and 
aide  to  General  Washington,  who  bore  dispatches  to 
Congress  announcing  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  The 
most  conspicuous  physicians  in  the  camps  and  hospital 
service  of  the  Continental  army  were  John  Morgan, 
Director  General  and  Physician-in-Chief,  who  held  the 
first  medical  professorship  in  this  country,  William 
Shippen,  Chief  Surgeon  and  a  founder  of  the  medical 
department,  Benjamin  Rush  the  first  professor  of  chem 
istry,  and  Adam  Kuhn  the  first  professor  of  materia 
medica.  The  first  Speaker  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  was  Frederick  Augustus  Muhlenberg,  a  trustee. 
Of  Attorneys  General  of  the  United  States,  there  have 
been  Caeser  A.  Rodney  of  the  class  of  1789,  Henry  D. 
Gilpin  of  the  class  of  1819,  and  Benjamin  Harris  Brew- 
ster  of  the  class  of  1834.  Of  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury, 
Robert  J.  Walker  of  the  class  of  1819,  and  William  M. 
Meredith,  a  trustee.  Of  reporters  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  there  were  John  William  Wallace, 
and  William  T.  Otto,  both  of  the  class  of  1832.  All  of 
the  Governors  of  the  State  have  been  ex-officio  presidents 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  seven  of  them  were  grad 
uates.  Of  Chief  Justices  of  the  State,  we  name  William 
Tilghman,  John  M.  Read,  George  Sharswood  and  James 
T.  Mitchell,  graduates,  all  of  them,  the  latter  of  the 
Law  Department.  In  legal  authorship  we  point  to 


1 82  CARSON:   FRANKLIN 

Anthony  Laussatt  of  the  class  of  1821,  Sharswood  of 
the  class  of  1828,  J.  I.  Clark  Hare  of  the  class  of  1834, 
and  William  Henry  Rawle,  of  the  class  of  1842.  In 
science  we  boast  of  the  names  of  Ebenezer  Kinnersley, 
David  Rittenhouse,  John  Ewing,  who  ran  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line,  William  P.  C.  Barton  the  botanist,  James 
Woodhouse,  Franklin  Bache,  Peter  Lesley,  Charles  M. 
Cresson,  Fairman  Rogers,  John  F.  Frazer,  and  Joseph 
Leidy,  the  incomparable  anatomist.  In  the  church  we 
point  to  James  Latta,  Albert  Barnes,  William  Bacon 
Stevens,  Richard  Newton,  Charles  M.  Schaffer,  George 
Dana  Boardman,  and  William  A.  Muhlenburg,  of  the 
Class  of  1815,  the  hymnologist,  and  author  of  the  beau 
tiful  hymns,  "I  Would  not  Live  Alway,"  and  "Shout 
the  Glad  Tidings";  among  men  of  affairs  there  are 
Henry  Towne,  the  founder  of  the  Towne  Scientific 
School,  Isaac  J.  Wistar,  the  founder  of  the  Wistar  Insti 
tute  of  Anatomy  and  Biology,  Joseph  Wharton,  founder 
of  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance,  Joshua  B.  Lippin- 
cott,  the  practical  founder  of  the  Veterinary  School, 
Henry  Seybert,  the  generous  patron  of  the  Chair  of 
Intellectual  and  Moral  Philosophy,  Mrs.  Bloomfield  H. 
Moore,  and  Joseph  M.  Bennett,  the  practical  friends 
of  the  higher  education  of  women,  Reese  W.  Flower, 
the  benefactor  of  the  Astronomical  Observatory,  Henry 
H.  Houston,  whose  name  will  be  forever  associated  in 
the  grateful  memories  of  students  with  the  memorial  to 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA       183 

his  son,  Howard  Houston,  in  the  shape  of  Houston  Hall, 
and  those  numerous  friends  and  donors  of  the  dormi 
tories,  whose  generous  thoughts  will  bloom  perennially 
like  the  flowers  in  the  gardens  that  surround  them. 

We  name  with  appreciation  of  their  liberality  the 
City  of  Philadelphia,  John  Wanamaker,  Phebe  A. 
Hearst,  Max  Uhle,  William  Pepper,  Daniel  G.  Brin- 
ton,  Lucy  W.  Drexel,  Dillwyn  Parrish,  Maxwell  Somer- 
ville,  and  Clarence  H.  Clarke,  in  connection  with  the 
Museum  of  Archaeology.  We  point  in  medicine  to 
Nathaniel  Chapman,  George  B.  Wood,  D.  Hayes 
Agnew  and  William  Pepper,  in  Dentistry  to  James 
Truman;  in  literature  to  Joseph  Hopkinson,  author  of 
"  Hail,  Columbia,"  Henry  Reed,  the  friend  and  corre 
spondent  of  Wordsworth,  John  W.  Draper,  the  author 
of  the  History  of  the  Intellectual  Development  of  Eu 
rope,  Charles  Dudley  Warner,  and  to  those  whose  lives 
still  bestow  their  blessings,  and  whom  it  would  be  a  fault 
to  omit— Horace  Howard  Furness,  and  S.  Weir 
Mitchell. 

Of  provosts,  the  first  was  Dr.  William  Smith,  a  man 
of  such  consideration  that  he  was  president  of  every 
House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies  from  the  creation 
of  such  a  chamber  till  his  physical  infirmities  rendered 
him  incapable  of  presiding  anywhere;  the  successively 
selected  preacher,  year  after  year,  of  all  the  Church 
at  the  consecration  of  her  first  three  Bishops  consecrated 


184  CARSON:    FRANKLIN 

in  America.  At  the  convention  of  the  Church  in  seven 
States,  held  in  1785,  at  Christ  Church,  in  Philadelphia, 
Dr.  Smith  was  chosen  chairman  "  to  consider  of  and 
report  such  alterations  in  the  Liturgy  as  shall  render  it 
consistent  with  the  American  Revolution  and  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  respective  States,  and  such  other  altera 
tions  in  the  Liturgy  as  it  may  be  advisable  for  this 
Convention  to  recommend." 

Dr.  Smith  was  also  Chairman  of  the  Committee  which 
revised  in  1789  and  printed  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer.  The  preface  is  his  work.  The  convention  of 
1789  appointed  him  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  Presi 
dent,  George  Washington,  who  a  few  months  before  had 
entered  upon  the  untried  duty  of  Chief  Magistrate  of 
the  United  States,  and  it  was  his  eloquent  voice  that 
pronounced  before  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
the  eulogium  upon  Benjamin  Franklin.  From  that  day 
to  this,  the  Provostship  has  been  occupied  by  men  of 
rare  force  and  unfaltering  devotion  to  duty,  but  I  would 
be  false  to  my  own  sense  of  obligation  and  to  the  rep 
resentative  capacity  which  I  occupy  to-day  if  I  failed 
to  say  in  this  illustrious  presence  in  behalf  of  the  trus 
tees,  the  professors  and  alumni  everywhere,  of  the  trib 
ute  recently  paid  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  by  a 
graduate  of  Yale,  an  ex-President  of  Cornell,  and  our 
accomplished  ambassador  at  the  Courts  of  Continental 
Europe,  in  which  he  ranked  her  as  the  foremost  in  the 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA       185 

oldest  and  most  densely  peopled  portion  of  the  United 
States,  that  the  present  splendor  of  the  noblest  monu 
ment  yet  reared  to  the  memory  of  Franklin  —  the  glory 
of  the  city,  the  pride  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the 
inspiration  of  lives  in  far  distant  corners  of  the  earth  - 
is  largely  due  to  the  unselfish  toil  and  the  enlightened 
zeal  of  Charles  Custis  Harrison. 

We  have  met  to  pay  tribute,  in  behalf  of  the  Uni 
versity  that  he  founded,  to  the  memory  of  the  man  who 
always  reasoned  out  his  conduct;  the  sage  who  never 
said  a  word  too  soon,  nor  a  word  too  late,  nor  a  word 
too  much;  nor  did  he  fail  to  say  the  decisive  word  at 
the  proper  moment;  who  said  what  he  thought,  and  who 
did  what  he  said.  He  preached  his  moral  lessons  with 
gayety  as  well  as  power.  His  venerable  face,  his  float 
ing  hair,  his  shrewd,  quick  eye,  his  unclouded  amia 
bility,  are  omnipresent.  He  dissipated  prejudices  with 
playfulness,  he  rallied  the  selfishness  of  individuals  and 
the  artifices  of  government  with  equal  skill  and  good 
nature.  There  was  no  strain  of  violence  in  his  blood. 
There  was  no  hysteria  in  his  voice.  There  was  no  fierce 
denunciation  of  his  enemies.  As  Laboulaye  said: 

"  Do  not  expect  from  him  those  bursts  which  raise 
you  above  the  passing  world.  Franklin  never  quits  the 
earth.  It  is  not  genius  in  him,  it  is  good  sense  expressed 
in  its  highest  power.  Do  not  seek  in  him  a  poet  nor 
even  an  orator,  but  a  master  of  practical  life  —  a  man  to 


1 86  CARSON:   FRANKLIN 

whom  the  world  belongs.  Neither  imagine  you  have 
to  do  with  a  vulgar  worldly  wisdom.  This  amiable 
mocker,  who  laughs  at  everything,  is  not  the  less  kind- 
hearted,  a  devoted  patriot,  and  one  of  the  sincerest 
friends  of  humanity.  His  laugh  is  not  that  of  Voltaire, 
there  is  no  bitterness  in  it.  It  is  the  benevolent  smile  of 
an  old  man  whom  life  has  taught  indulgence." 

It  was  a  clear  conception  of  the  necessity  for  union 
against  a  common  foe  which  animated  his  plan  at  Al 
bany;  it  was  his  proud  and  dauntless  Americanism  which 
sustained  him  before  the  privy  council  when  denounced 
by  Wedderburn  as  a  thief;  it  was  his  undying  faith  in 
Democracy  which  preserved  him  unharmed  when  wor 
shipped  and  caressed  by  the  descendant  of  sixty  kings; 
it  was  his  undimmed  vision  of  the  future  and  his  wise 
sense  of  present  peril  which  made  him  an  architect  of 
our  national  government,  and  for  these  he  must  be  held 
in  reverential  remembrance. 

Combining  the  characters  of  a  great  scientific  dis 
coverer  and  a  founder  of  the  Republic,  in  the  one 
capacity,  fit  to  rank  with  Galileo  and  Newton,  and  in 
the  other  with  Washington,  the  builder  of  his  own  for 
tune,  a  poor  printer's  lad  whose  daring  and  happy  genius 
scaled  the  heights  which  enthrone  the  monarchs  of  man 
kind,  tried  by  prosperity  as  well  as  adversity,  self-taught 
in  all  he  knew,  a  writer  famed  for  his  style  without  a 
classical  education,  beginning  life  in  the  garret  and  the 


AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA      187 

workshop  and  ending  as  the  unspoiled  favorite  of 
royalty,  he  never  lost  his  simplicity,  his  dignity,  his 
strength,  his  humanity  or  his  courageous  faith  in  gov 
ernment  by  the  people. 

For  these  qualities  we  honor  him,  and  for  his  achieve 
ments  the  Muse  of  History  will  crown  his  name  with 
everlasting  bays. 

If  his  venerated  shade  could  preside  over  the  de 
liberations  of  this  hour,  would  he  not  say: 

"  My  children,  I  lived  a  long  time,  and  the  longer  I 
lived,  the  more  convincing  proofs  I  saw  of  this  truth: 
that  God  rules  in  the  affairs  of  men;  and  if  a  sparrow 
can  not  fall  to  the  ground  without  his  notice,  an  empire 
can  not  rise  without  His  aid.  We  have  been  assured 
in  the  sacred  writings  that  '  except  the  Lord  build  the 
house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it.'  I  firmly  believe 
this,  and  I  also  believe  that  without  His  aid  we  shall 
succeed  no  better  than  the  builders  of  Babel.  I  have 
seen  the  institution  that  I  helped  to  found,  the  city,  and 
the  state,  and  the  nation  that  encompasses  them,  thrive 
under  the  blessing  of  Heaven  beyond  all  expectation  and 
rise  in  the  estimation  of  men  until  they  have  become  a 
part  of  the  active  forces  of  the  world.  Let  them  stand 
for  peace  and  justice.  Let  men  make  it  a  part  of  their 
religion  to  see  that  their  country  is  well  governed;  let 
the  nation  learn  that  glory  is  not  to  be  valued  because  of 
bloodshed,  nor  shall  honor  be  bartered  for  sacks  of  gold. 


1 88  CARSON:    FRANKLIN 

When  principle  is  at  stake,  let  resistance  to  wrong  be 
unyielding;  let  laws  be  just  and  oppressions   and   dis 
criminations  perish;  let  men  be  faithful  to  their  trusts 
and  learn  that  the  wealth  and  power  committed  to  their 
hands   are  stewardships   for  which   they  must  account. 
Let  men  be  kindly  one  to  another,  not  backbiting,  revil 
ing,  nor  bitter  in  enmity.     Let  our  youth  learn  that  a 
good  name  is  better  than  riches,  which  can  not  be  dissi 
pated   by  heirs   or   lost  by   misfortune;    that  character 
should  not  be  like  the  willow  or  the  poplar,  brittle  and 
frangible,  but  like  the  oak,  tough  and  enduring:   that 
lives,  to  be  useful,  should  be  active,  not  passive,  and  that 
liberty,  to  be  precious,  should  be  real,  not  speculative. 
I  see  long  centuries  opening  their  vistas  and  emancipated 
peoples  revolving  like  planets  about  the  central  sun  of 
American   freedom.     I   hear  nation   calling   to   nation, 
and  shouting  like  morning  stars  for  joy  over  their  libera 
tion.    And  for  you,  my  children,  trustees  in  this  genera 
tion  of  the  rights  of  the  individual  and  of  the  larger 
rights  of  humanity,   I  pray  that  all  things  may  be  so 
ordered   and  settled  by  your  endeavors   upon   the  best 
and  surest  foundations  that  peace  and  happiness,  truth 
and  justice,  religion  and  piety  may  be  established  among 
you  for  all  generations." 


THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    ST.    ANDREWS 
THE  HONORARY  DEGREE  OF  LL.D. 

[Conferred  in  Witherspoon  Hall,  Tuesday,  April  17] 

The  candidate,  Miss  Agnes  Irwin,  Dean  of  Radcliffe 
College,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  was  presented  by 
S.  Weir  Mitchell,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  and  Horace  Howard 
Furness,  Litt.D.  (Cantab.),  and  the  degree  was  con 
ferred  in  the  following  words  by 

ANDREW  CARNEGIE,  LL.D., 

Lord  Rector 

Appearing  before  you  in  my  official  capacity  as  Lord 
Rector  of  St.  Andrews,  the  oldest  of  Scottish  Univer 
sities,  I  deem  it  peculiarly  fitting  that  the  occasion  is 
one  in  commemoration  of  Dr.  Franklin,  for  her  rela 
tions  to  that  eminent  man  are  of  the  most  pleasing 
character.  She  it  was  who  in  1759  first  made  him  a 
Doctor. 

Sir,  I  am  charged  to  assure  you  and  this  assembly 
that  she  feels  to-day  that  upon  no  similar  act  has  she 
reason  more  profoundly  to  congratulate  herself  than 
upon  that  of  the  Faculty  of  that  day  who  discerned  the 
worth  of  Dr.  Franklin  and  bestowed  upon  him  this 

(189) 


190  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS 

recognition  of  his  great  services,  not  only  to  his  own 
country  but  to  the  world. 

In  conversing  with  Matthew  Arnold  one  day  upon 
America's  great  men,  I  remember  how  impressively  he 
spoke  these  words,  "  Franklin's  is  the  weightiest  voice 
that  has  as  yet  sounded  from  across  the  Atlantic."  You 
of  this  Society,  so  conversant  with  his  history,  will  I 
believe  find  no  fault  with  this  opinion.  The  startling 
triumphs  of  electricity  in  our  day  and  the  surprises  it 
promises  still  to  give  us,  the  discovery  of  radium  and 
of  numerous  other  properties  in  matter,  all  lead  in  the 
direction  of  Tyndall's  famous  prediction  that  we  shall 
finally  find  the  potency  of  all  things  in  matter.  At  the 
very  root  of  this  revelation,  stands  for  all  time  the  man 
who  first  drew  the  lightning  from  the  clouds  and  pro 
claimed  it  electricity,  matter  with  something  beyond, 
he  in  whose  honor  we  are  met  from  various  parts  of 
the  Earth  to-day.  His  name  cannot  be  omitted  in  any 
list  of  the  few  supremely  great  who  have  exerted  a 
potent  influence  upon  mankind.  To  the  numerous 
tributes  made  upon  the  altar  of  his  memory  this  day, 
St.  Andrews'  University  reverently  and  gratefully  begs 
to  be  permitted  to  add  hers.  She  who  honored  Franklin 
in  life,  in  death  still  treasures  his  memory  as  one  of 
her  most  illustrious,  perhaps  the  most  illustrious,  of 
all  her  sons. 


CONFERRING  OF  HONORARY  DEGREE          191 

I  have  been  entrusted  with  another  pleasing  duty. 
The  Senatus  has  authorized  me  to  perform  a  ceremony 
of  rare  significance. 

St.  Andrews,  which  honored  the  great-grandfather, 
has  voted  to  confer  the  same  degree  of  LL.D.  on  Agnes 
Irwin,  Litt.D.,  Dean  of  Radcliffe  College,  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  his  well-known,  esteemed  and  worthy 
great-grandchild.  I  need  scarcely  say  this  action  was 
not  prompted  by  the  relationship;  claims  of  heredity 
could  not  justify  the  bestowal  of  an  honor  whose  proud 
distinction  is  that  it  ever  has  been  and  is  to-day  the 
reward  of  personal  achievement  alone.  Knowledge  of 
the  work  and  character  of  the  Dean  of  Radcliffe  is  not 
confined  to  her  own  country.  Like  her  great  grand 
father's  name,  hers  also  has  sounded  across  the  Atlantic. 
Miss  Irwin  last  summer,  as  I  have  reason  to  know, 
found  that  she  was  neither  unknown  nor  unappreciated 
among  the  principals  and  professors  of  the  Scottish 
universities.  Principal  Donaldson  of  St.  Andrews  was 
one  of  several  principals  with  whom  Miss  Irwin  spent 
a  week  in  Scotland.  I  can  assure  her  he  was  fully  aware 
of  her  career  when  he  suggested  that  she  should  be  thus 
honored,  and  St.  Andrews's  Senatus,  very  jealous  always 
of  its  honors,  I  am  desired  to  tell  you  is  well  assured 
its  degree,  in  this  instance,  is  abundantly  deserved. 

How  rare  the  combination  of  happy  circumstances! 
The  Scottish  University  that  first  gave  to  Franklin  his 


192  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS 

title  of  Doctor  in  St.  Andrews,  Scotland,  after  a  lapse 
of  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  years,  now  bestows  the 
same  title  upon  his  great-grandchild — a  woman,  and 
deputes  its  Lord  Rector,  born  a  subject  of  the  Mon 
archy  as  Franklin  was  when  he  received  his  degree, 
and  now  a  citizen  of  the  Republic  as  he  became,  to 
present  it  to  her  here  in  Franklin's  home  before  such 
a  gathering  as  this,  assembled  to  do  honor  to  his 
memory.  We  can  imagine  with  what  feelings  he  would 
look  down  upon  all  this.  No  one  knows  that  he  may 
not.  Let  us  therefore,  following  Plato's  advice,  allure 
ourselves  as  if  with  enchantments,  indulging  the  hope 
that  he  does  behold  and  beams  approvingly  upon  it.  It 
is  all  so  delightful,  so  graciously  beautiful,  that  I  bless 
the  kind  fate  that  has  made  me  an  humble  instrument 
in  the  ceremony. 

The  minute  of  the  Senatus  is  as  follows: 
At  the  Ordinary  Meeting  of  the  Senatus  Academicus 
held  on  3rd  April,  1906,  the  Senatus  considered  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Honorary  Degree  of 
LL.D.,  and  Miss  Agnes  Irwin,  Litt.D.,  Dean  of  Rad- 
cliffe  College,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  U.  S.  A., 
having  been  formally  nominated  for  the  degree  of 
LL.D.,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  to  confer  the  degree 
upon  her. 


THE   MEMORY  OF   FRANKLIN 

BY  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL 

[Read  at  the  Dinner,  April  20.] 

A  memory  only?  nay,  for  us  who  find 
Familiar  here  the  impress  of  his  mind, 
Warmed  by  his  thought  when  glow  the  evening  fires. 
Hearing  his  genius  in  the  whispering  wires, 
More  than  a  memory  he  seems  to  tread 
Our  streets  to-day,  the  quickest  of  the  dead! 
We  know  the  face,  the  dome-like  build  of  head, 
The  mirthful  lips  by  humorous  habit  bred, 
The  sterner  lines  that  mark  the  will  to  meet 
In  equal  wise  or  victory  or  defeat. 
How  near  us  seems  this  nature  frank  and  kind, 
This  equal  comrade  of  the  larger  mind, 
And  yet  so  near  the  heart  of  all  mankind. 
Unharmed  by  flattery  and  unstirred  by  praise 
He  moved  serenely  through  laborious  days 
Befriended  ever  by  one  gift  of  heaven 
Not  always  surely  unto  genius  given,— 
The  cool  self-judgment  void  of  all  pretense, 
The  sense  uncommon  men  call  common-sense. 
So  lives  in  memory  he  who  stands  confessed 
14  (  193  ) 


194  MITCHELL 

Of  every  thought  to-night  the  welcome  guest. 
Lo  at  his  name  there  rise  securely  great 
The  strong  yore  fathers  of  our  infant  state, 
Whose  gage  of  duty  boldly  challenged  fate. 
What  happy  stars  shone  radiant  on  the  birth 
Of  that  ripe  harvest  of  our  virgin  earth, 
Men  of  a  day  when  Freedom  asked  of  Fame 
Heroic  souls, — and  large  the  answer  came! 
Two  hundred  busy  years  have  passed  away 
Since  in  his  humble  home  an  infant  lay: 
Beside  his  cradle  passed  the  mistress  Fates 
On  whose  decree  the  hidden  future  waits. 
No  frowning  shapes  foretold  disastrous  hours, — • 
Fair  were  the  forms  that  promised  fruit  and  flowers. 
There  tranquil  Science  to  the  infant  brought 
The  prescient  insight  of  illumined  thought, 
Saw  with  proud  eyes  the  answering  flame  of  heaven 
Unto  the  questioning  hand  of  genius  given, 
And  felt  with  him  the  joy  of  those  who  find 
The  hidden  secrets  of  the  eternal  mind. 
The  Muse  of  Letters  whispered  in  his  ear 
"  Thou  shalt  be  mine,  and  lo,  I  give  thee  here 
The  wise  of  elder  days  thy  friends  to  be 
As  men  unborn  shall  turn  for  friend  to  thee; 
Thou  shalt  be  mine,"  she  cried,  and  gave  the  boy 
The  unfailing  magic  of  her  matchless  joy, 


THE  MEMORY  OF  FRANKLIN  195 

Graced  with  expression's  charm  his  birthday  hour, 
And  on  his  cradle  left  her  gift  of  power. 
The  queen  of  History  in  that  lowlv  room 
With  glowing  visions  filled  the  silent  gloom, 
While  past  his  couch  swept  on  and  swift  away 
All  the  strange  drama  of  his  future  day 
Till  with  a  word  of  influence  bending  down 
Each  gift  she  left  that  wins  for  man  renown, 
And  at  the  last  Achievement's  laurel  crown. 
Then  at  his  side  there  lingered  for  a  while 
The  Comic  Muse  and  with  her  constant  smile 
Gave  the  wide  gamut  of  her  range  of  mirth 
To  meet  and  mock  the  ills  and  cares  of  earth, 
Left  where  he  lay  the  shining  sword  and  shield 
Of  ready  humor  well  he  learned  to  wield 
And  with  her  joyous  laughter  called  away 
These  phantom  prophets  of  his  natal  day. 
Take  then  my  toast,  "  A  great  man's  memory  " 
"  A  man  so  various  that  he  seemed  to  be 
Not  one,  but  all  mankind's  epitome." 


ADDRESSES 

FROM    SISTER    SOCIETIES 

AND 
OTHER   INSTITUTIONS 

OF    LEARNING 


[Presented  in  Witherspoon  Hall,  Tuesday,  April   17] 


(197 


IL   MINISTERO   DI   AGRICOLTURA,    INDUS- 
TRIA  E  COMMERCIO  D'lTALIA 

CONSOLATO 

di 

S.   M.  IL  RE  D'lTALIA. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  lyth,  1906. 
To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mr.  President: 

It  is  my  privilege  and  great  pleasure  to  tender  you, 
on  behalf  of  the  Royal  Department  of  Agriculture,  In 
dustry  and  Commerce  of  Italy,  which  I  was  especially 
delegated  to  represent  on  this  memorable  occasion,  the 
heartfelt  felicitations  for  the  festivities  your  Society  is 
celebrating. 

There  are  two  hundred  years  from  the  memorable  day 
in  which  one  of  the  greatest  glories  of  this  country  was 
born.  Great  was  the  event  as  great  were  the  conse 
quences  which  were  felt  in  this  country  and  across  the 
ocean,  and  Italy  to-day  feels  herself  bound  to  you  as  a 
friend  and  as  an  admirer.  The  American  Nation,  after 
having  had,  like  Italy,  her  war  of  independence,  her 
heroes,  her  Cincinnatus,  her  Fabricius,  also  had  her 

( 199) 


200  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

celebrities,  among  whom  Benjamin  Franklin,  by  com 
mon  consent  of  the  world,  holds  one  of  the  first  places. 

Italy  entertaining  the  greatest  admiration  at  the  mar 
vellous  expansion  and  wonderful  material  growth  of 
this  glorious  republic,  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  the 
most  respected  members  of  the  community  of  nations, 
wishes  to  join  you  on  this  occasion  to  do  honor  to  him, 
who  illustrated  humanity  in  an  astonishing  multiplicity 
of  ways,  in  an  infinite  number  of  points.  By  the  in 
struction  which  Franklin  gave  by  his  discoveries,  by  his 
inventions  and  by  his  achievements  in  public  life,  he 
established  a  claim  upon  the  gratitude  of  mankind,  so 
broad  that  history  holds  few  who  can  be  his  rivals.  The 
Boston  boy,  the  young  printer,  and  later  on  the  in 
ventor,  the  diplomat  and  the  patriot,  are  pictures  which 
are  familiar  to  the  world. 

Franklin's  enterprise  and  ability  and  his  good  sense 
in  all  matters,  formed  the  admiration  of  his  fellow  men, 
so  that  intellectually  there  are  few  men  who  are  his 
peers  in  all  the  ages  and  nations.  His  inventive  genius 
was  commemorated  in  Italy  by  the  Italian  sculptor 
Monteverde,  with  the  celebrated  statue  "  the  genius  of 
Franklin,"  representing  a  youth  tearing  the  lightning 
from  the  sky  and  imprisoning  it  in  the  earth,  thus 
illustrating  Franklin's  invention  of  the  lightning  rod, 
consequent  on  his  discovery  of  the  identity  of  lightning 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  201 

with  electricity.  Franklin's  letters  in  the  proceedings 
of  his  experiments  in  electricity  translated  into  Italian, 
made  Italians  familiar  with  his  discoveries  as  well  as 
with  the  fascinating  style  and  humor  with  which  the 
progress  of  his  studies  is  related,  and  I  will  add  that 
Italy  interested  in  the  discoveries  of  her  own  electricians, 
from  Volta  to  Marconi,  looks  to-day  upon  this  Country 
with  admiration  for  the  American  inventor,  Benjamin 
Franklin. 

In  presenting  to  your  Society,  with  all  enthusiasm,  the 
felicitations  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Indus 
try  and  Commerce  of  Italy,  I  wish  to  further  express 
the  admiration  of  my  Country  for  America,  a  nation 
not  only  glorious  on  land  and  sea,  but  great  in  science 
and  inventions,  whose  son,  Benjamin  Franklin  com 
mands  the  gratitude  and  respect  of  the  world. 

COUNT  NASELLI. 


202  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY 

SOCIETATI  PHILOSOPHICAE  AMERICANAE 

S.  P.  D. 
UNIVERSITAS  CANTABRIGIENSIS. 

Rem  nobis  pergratam  fecistis,  viri  nobiscum  et  generis 
et  linguae  et  studiorum  communium  vinculis  coniunc- 
tissimi,  quod  annos  ducentos  Conditoris  vestri  a  die 
natali  nuper  feliciter  exactos  propediem  celebraturi, 
feriis  vestris  saecularibus  etiam  nostram  Universitatem 
interesse  voluistis.  Societatis  enim  vestrae  Conditor  ille 
insignis,  non  modo  reipublicae  vestrae  maximae  inter 
cives  maximos  erat  numeratus,  sed  etiam  universi  generis 
humani  amore  summo  praeditus.  In  publicis  autem 
rebus  diu  versatus,  populi  magni  vixdum  nascentis  lega- 
tus  erat  inter  exteros  acceptissimus.  Philosophiae  vero 
illius,  quae  ad  vitae  cotidianae  commoda  praesertim 
spectat,  imprimis  studiosus,  per  annos  plurimos  e  prelo 
suo  quot  libros,  quanta  animi  prudentia,  quanto  sen- 
tentiarum  acumine  instinctos,  civium  suorum  in  multi- 
tudinem  immensam  emisit!  Idem  scientiae  novae  velut 
augur  et  praenuntius  perspicax,  vim  electricam  etiam 
nubium  fulgura  generare  primus  omnium  comprobavit, 
ipsoque  caelo  fulmen  eripuit.  Non  immerito  igitur 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  203 

Societatis  vestrae  patrona  est  Minerva  ipsa,  non  iam 
belli  praeses  sed  scientiarum  regina,  quam  vestro  in 
sigillo  caeli  in  nubibus  inter  lucis  radios  sedere  cernimus. 
Ergo  ad  Societatem,  numinis  tarn  benigni  patrocinio 
defensam,  professorum  nostrorum  ex  ordine  legatum 
imprimis  idoneum  mittimus,  qui  festis  illis  diebus  Con- 
ditoris  vestri  sepulcrum  non  sine  reverentia  inviset,  So 
cietatis  vestrae  incunabula  non  sine  gaudio  contempla- 
bitur,  urbis  vestrae  per  vias  tot  arborum  silvestrium 
nominibus  feliciter  ornatas  ad  aulam  vestram  hospitalem 
libenter  incedet,  in  ipsa  denique  amoris  fraterni  sede 
bene  nominata  nostrum  omnium  in  vos  omnes  animum 
fraternum  declarabit.  Valete. 

Datum  Cantabrigiae 
Kalendis  Martiis 
A.   S.   MCMVI°. 


204  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


REGIA    UNIVERSITA    DI    PAVIA 

REGIA  UNIVERSITA  DI  PAVIA. 

II  Rettore: 

Pavia,  22  Febbraio,  1906. 

Ho  ricevuto  con  molto  piacere  il  cortese  invito  alle 
feste  centenarie  che  si  celebreranno  a  Filadelfia  nel 
prossimo  aprile  in  onore  del  sommo  Franklin.  Plau- 
dendo  di  gran  cuore  alia  nobile  iniziativa  prego  1'Illmo. 
Signer  Presidente  di  codesta  American  Philosophical 
Society  di  rappresentare  nella  solenne  cerimonia  questa 
Universita  in  cui  le  dottrine  del  grande  Fisico  americano 
furono  caldamente  insegnate  dal  maggiore  elettricista 
d'ltalia  Alessandro  Volta,  non  solo  ammiratore  ma 
anche  amico  personale  di  Beniamino  Franklin. 

Con  profondo  ossequio, 
Illma.  (SEAL)  II  Rettore, 

American  Philosophical  C.  GOLGI. 

Society, 

Filadelfia. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  205 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS 

The  University  of  St.  Andrews  claims  the  privilege 
of  presenting  its  felicitations  to  the  American  Philosoph 
ical  Society  on  the  occasion  of  the  two  hundredth  anni 
versary  of  the  birth  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  so  notable 
as  Journalist,  Statesman,  Diplomatist,  and  man  of 
Science. 

The  celebration  of  anniversaries  is  a  ground  of  con 
gratulation  or  of  regret  according  as  they  mark  the 
progress  or  the  decadence  of  the  cause  which  they  com 
memorate,  and  if  this  University  is  proud  to-day,  as 
the  recipient  may  have  been  proud  at  the  time,  of  the 
diploma  conferred  by  it  in  the  year  1759  upon  "Mr. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  famous  for  his  writings  on  elec 
tricity,"  the  reason  is  that  the  magnificent  development 
of  learning  and  philosophy  in  the  United  States,  as  we 
know  them,  had  its  germ  in  the  spirit  of  freedom  and 
intelligence  which  displayed  itself  in  that  great  citizen 
before  the  States  were  a  nation. 

The  University  of  St.  Andrews,  through  its  Rector, 
sends  greeting  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
as  a  body  of  friends  and  fellow  students,  to  whose  minds 
it  desires  to  be  present  on  an  occasion  which  concerns 

the  entire  Republic  of  Letters. 

JAMES  DONALDSON, 
SEAL  ' 

Vice-Chancellor. 


206  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  GLASGOW 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 
INDEPENDENCE  SQUARE,  PHILADELPHIA, 

PENNSYLVANIA, 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

With  much  satisfaction  the  University  of  Glasgow 
has  received  from  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
an  invitation  to  take  part  in  the  celebration  of  the  two 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Benjamin  Frank 
lin. 

The  Members  of  the  Senate  recognize  in  the  in 
genuity,  the  versatility,  and  the  practical  sagacity  of 
Franklin  the  qualities  of  the  typical  American,  and  in 
his  philosophical  bent,  his  skill  in  diplomacy,  and  the 
wisdom  of  his  statesmanship,  proof  that  he  was  at  the 
same  time  a  citizen  of  the  world. 

They  delight  to  recall  that  during  Franklin's  visit 
to  this  country  he  came  into  contact  not  seldom  with  one 
of  Glasgow's  most  famous  professors,  the  author  of  the 
Wealth  of  Nations,  and  they  have  good  ground  for 
believing  that  the  benefit  was  not  all  on  one  side.  Nor 
are  they  likely  to  forget  that  while  Franklin's  remark 
able  experiments  in  Electricity  began  in  1746,  exactly  a 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  207 

century  later,  in  1846,  began  in  this  University  the  career 
of  William  Thomson,  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy 
and  Member  of  Senate  for  fifty-three  years,  who  is  at 
the  present  day  the  foremost  representative  of  physical, 
and  especially  of  electric,  science,  the  Right  Honourable 
Lord  Kelvin,  a  Peer  of  the  Realm,  and  Chancellor  of 
the  University.  Franklin,  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
with  his  hempen  thread  proved  the  identity  of  the 
lightnings  of  heaven  and  the  electricity  of  earth;  Kelvin, 
in  the  nineteenth,  by  the  electric  cable  united  the  Old 
World  and  the  New. 

With  great  goodwill,  therefore,  the  Members  of  the 
Senatus  Academicus  associate  themselves  in  spirit  with 
the  Society  founded  by  Franklin  in  celebrating  with  due 
honour  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  his  birth, 
and  desire  to  be  represented  on  the  occasion  by  the  fol 
lowing  graduates  of  the  University,  now  residing  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere: 

THOMAS  GRAY,  B.Sc.,  Professor  of  Dynamical  Engi 
neering  in  the  Rose  Polytechnic  Institute,  Terre 
Haute,  Indiana,  U.  S.  A. 

WILLIAM  R.  LANG,  D.Sc.,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in 
the  University  of  Toronto,  Canada. 

DUNCAN  B.  MACDONALD,  B.D.,  Instructor  in  the 
Semitic  Department  of  Hartford  Theological  Semi 
nary,  Connecticut,  U.  S.  A. 


208  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

Signed   in   name,    and   by   authority,   of   the   Senatus 
Academicus  of  the  University  of  Glasgow  this  fourth 

day  of  April,  1906. 

R.  HERBERT  STORY, 

(SEAL)  Principal  and  Vice-Chancellor. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  209 


THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   EDINBURGH 

ADDRESS 
To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

FROM   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  EDINBURGH, 
APRIL,  1906. 

The  University  of  Edinburgh  sends  cordial  greetings 
and  good  wishes  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
on  the  auspicious  occasion  of  the  zooth  Anniversary  of 
the  birth  of  the  Society's  Founder  and  First  President, 
Benjamin  Franklin,  and  rejoices  to  cooperate  with  the 
Universities  and  Learned  Societies  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  in  praising  a  famous  man. 

The  name  of  Benjamin  Franklin  is  a  name  of  which 
it  especially  behoves  the  great  centres  of  learning  to 
celebrate  the  memory,  for  so  various  were  his  virtues, 
so  manifold  the  fields  in  which  he  attained  preeminence, 
that  the  different  departments  of  Academic  activity  may 
find  each  a  special  and  separate  ground  on  which  to 
render  him  honour. 

The  Faculties  of  Arts  recall  the  signal  literary  gifts, 
the  wisdom  and  understanding  which  won  for  Franklin 
a  foremost  place  in  the  illustrious  school  of  i8th  century 
Essayists  and  Moralists;  the  Faculties  of  Law  and  Polit 
ical  Science  are  proud  to  recognise  the  rare  statesman- 
is 


210  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

ship  and  unrivalled  diplomatic  qualities  to  which  Amer 
ica  is  so  greatly  beholden;  the  Faculties  of  Medicine 
are  mindful  that  Franklin  was  the  founder  of  one  of 
the  first  Hospitals  established  in  the  New  World;  and 
the  Faculties  of  Science  salute  him  as  an  investigator 
whose  discoveries  have  yielded  far-reaching  and  most 
fruitful  results. 

Moreover,  in  his  career  as  a  whole,  with  its  lessons 
of  fortitude  in  adversity  and  strenuous  endeavour  for 
great  ends,  the  Universities  rejoice  to  behold  a  splendid 
exemplar  and  incentive. 

It  is  with  pleasure  and  with  pride  that  the  University 
of  Edinburgh  calls  to  mind  the  special  ties  which  during 
his  lifetime  united  Franklin  with  Scotland — -his  lau- 
reation  by  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  his  admission 
as  a  burgess  and  guild-brother  of  the  Scottish  metropolis, 
and  his  friendship  with  Adam  Smith,  with  David 
Hume,  with  Lord  Kames,  and  William  Robertson  the 
Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 

Time  cannot  wither  Franklin's  fame.  It  is  the  heart 
felt  hope  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh  that  the  pros 
perity  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  may  be 
as  enduring  as  the  memory  of  its  founder.  "  Stet  fortuna 
domus."  WILLIAM  TURNER, 

(SEAL)  Principal  and  Vice-Chancellor. 

L.  J.  GRANT, 
Secretarv  of  the  Senatus  Academicus. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  211 


REALE  ACCADEMIA  DI  SCIENZE,  LETTERE 
ED  ARTI  IN  PADOVA 

REALE  ACCADEMIA 

DI  SCIENZE,  LETTERE  ED  ARTI 

IN  PADOVA. 

Illustre  Signer  Presidente,  2  Aprile,  1906. 

Questa  Accademia,  ch'io  ho  1'onore  di  presedere  e 
alia  quale  comunicai  il  gentile,  particolare  invito, 
ricevuto  dalla  "American  Philosophical  Society,"  di 
participare  alle  feste  da  questa  promosse  nell'occasione 
del  dugentesimo  anniversario  della  nascita  di  Beniamino 
Franklin,  vuole  le  sieno,  a  uno  mezzo,  espress'  i  piu 
sinceri  sensi  di  gratitudine. 

Una  delle  maggiori  glorie  della  nostra  Accademia 
e  infatt'  quella  di  poter  annoverare  tra  i  suoi  soci  piu 
insigni  il  grande  scienziato  americano,  e  pero  palesa 
tutta  la  propria  esultanza  in  una  ricorrenza  tanto  sol- 
enne,  non  solo  per  gli  Stati  Uniti  d'America,  ma  anche 
per  tutto  le  altre  nazioni  civile. 

La  grande  distanza  che  ci  separa  impedisce  cosi  a 
me  come  ad  altri  soci  deH'Accademia  di  venire  ad 
onorare  di  persona  il  grande  festeggiato:  ond'  Essa  si 


212  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

rivolge  allo  stesso  presente  degno  successore  del  Frank 
lin  e  lo  prega  vivamente  affinche  voglia  rappresentarla 
alle  prossime  feste,  insieme  col  chiarissimo  professore 
Simon  Newcomb  di  Baltimore. 

Voglia,  illustrissimo  Signor  Presidente,  gradire  le 
espressioni  della  nostra  riconoscenza  per  il  favore  che 
noi  Le  chiediamo  e  che  Ella  certo  non  vorra'negarci, 
non  che  quelle  della  profonda  nostra  osservanza. 

II  Presidente, 

V.  POLACCO. 

II  Segretario, 

A.  MEDIN. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  213 


ISTITUTO   DI   ZOOLOGIA  E  ANATOMIA 

COMPARATA  DELLA  R.  UNIVERSITA 

DI  CAGLIARI 

Cagliari,  20  Marzo,  1906. 
ILLM.  SIGNOR  PRESIDENTS, 

DELLA  "  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY," 

Philadelphia. 

Ho  1'onore  di  porgere  a  codesta  altissima  Societa 
scientifica  i  piu  vivi  ringraziamenti  per  1'onorifico  e 
cortese  invito  alia  Celebrazione  del  secondo  centenario 
della  nascita  di  Beniamino  Franklin. 

Vorrei  anch'io  poter  unirmi  ai  miei  confratelli  ameri- 
cani  per  tributare  tutti  gli  onori  piu  alti  e  i  piu  profondi 
omaggi  alia  memoria  di  quel  Grande  che  ad  un  animo 
immensamente  buono  univa  le  qualita  piu  elevate  dell' 
intelligenza  e  che,  cosa  unica  piu  che  rara  nel  mondo, 
seppe  essere  grande  scienziato,  profondo  filosofo,  eccel- 
lente  statista  e  filantropo  ammirevole,  destando  1'am- 
mirazione  e  1'amore  di  tutti  gli  uomini! 

Ma  Toceano  che  divide  i  due  mondi  non  potra  im- 
pedire  che  le  menti  degli  Europei  non  si  uniscano  a 
quelle  dei  loro  Confratelli  di  America  in  tale  sublime 

celebrazione!  H  Direttore, 

E.  GiGLio-Tos. 


214  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


L'ACADEMIE  DES   SCIENCES   DE  PARIS 

INSTITUT  DE  FRANCE 
ACADEMIE  DES  SCIENCES 

Paris,  le  5  Avril,  1906. 

Les  Secretaires  perpetuels  de  1'Academie  a  Monsieur 
le  President  de  L' AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 
A  PHILADELPHIE. 

Monsieur  le  President: 

En  invitant  1'Academie  des  Sciences  de  Paris  a  se 
faire  representer  aux  ceremonies  qui  se  preparent  a 
Philadelphie  pour  la  celebration  du  deux-centieme  anni- 
versaire  de  la  naissance  de  Benjamin  Franklin,  vous 
voulez  bien  rappeler  les  liens  qui  unissaient  la  France 
et  1'Academie  au  savant  illustre,  a  1'homme  eminent  et 
bon  dont  votre  patrie  reconnaissante  s'apprete  a  honorer 
de  nouveau  le  souvenir. 

Nous  aussi  nous  concervons  precieusement  ce  souvenir 
et  nous  nous  rappelons  que  nos  predecesseurs  s'etaient 
empresses  d'appeler  parmi  eux  celui  qui  avait  arrache  a 
la  Nature  un  de  ses  plus  beaux  secrets.  La  veneration 
que  la  France  toute  entiere  avait  pour  lui  etait  telle  que 
lorsqu'il  quitta  sa  retraite  de  Passy  pour  aller  mourir 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  215 

a  Philadelphie  au  milieu  de  ses  concitoyens,  notre  As- 
semblee  Nationale  voulut  lui  rendre  un  hommage 
solennel  et  ordonna  un  deuil  de  trois  jours  en  memoire 
des  services  qu'il  avait  rendus  a  1'humanite  tout  entiere. 
Depuis  que,  par  1'effort  de  toute  sa  vie,  il  a  contribue 
a  assurer  a  votre  patrie  toute  son  independance  et  a  pre- 
parer  ainsi  les  destinees  glorieuses  auxquelles  elle  est 
parvenue,  la  Science  Americaine  a  pris  dans  le  concert 
des  Nations  une  place  chaque  jour  plus  importante  et 
plus  appreciee.  L'Academie  des  Sciences  compte 
aujourd'hui  deux  Americains  parmi  ses  Associes  Etrang- 
ers.  Elle  a  pense  qu'en  leur  confiant  la  mission  de  la 
representer  aux  ceremonies  de  Philadelphie,  elle  re- 
pondrait  de  la  maniere  la  meilleure  aux  intentions  qui 
lui  ont  ete  exprimees.  Us  ont  regu  comme  Franklin  le 
plus  grand  honneur  dont  1'Academie  puisse  disposer: 
"Toute  1'Europe,"  nous  ecrivait  Franklin  le  16  Novem- 
bre  1772,  "  regarde  avec  justice  1'honneur  d'etre  admis 
au  nombre  se  vos  Associes  Etrangers  comme  le  plus 
grand  auquel  un  Savant  puisse  arriver  dans  la  republique 
des  lettres."  Get  honneur  nous  1'avons  confere  a  MM. 
Newcomb  et  Agassiz.  Leurs  privileges  sont  les  memes 
que  ceux  des  Membres  Ordinaires  de  1'Academie.  Leur 
presence  a  Philadelphie  aura  un  double  resultat.  En 
meme  temps  qu'elle  constituera  la  meilleure  preuve  que 
1'Academie  puisse  donner  de  tout  1'interet  que  nous 


216  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

attachons  a  prendre  part  a  la  celebration  d'un  glorieux 
anniversaire,  elle  sera  aussi  une  manifestation  eclatante 
de  la  haute  estime  que  professent  et  1'Academie  et  la 
France  pour  la  Science  et  les  Savants  Americains. 

Veuillez   agreer,   Monsieur   le    President,   1'assurance 
de  notre  haute  consideration. 

Les  Secretaires  Perpetuels. 

M.    BERTH ELOT. 
G.  DARBOUX. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  217 


HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

TO 
THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY. 

Greeting: 

Harvard  University  gladly  joins  the  American  Philo 
sophical  Society  in  celebrating  the  Bi-Centennial  of  its 
illustrious  Founder's  birth;  for  in  1753  the  University 
conferred  upon  Benjamin  Franklin  his  first  academic 
degree, —  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,- 
in  recognition  of  his  remarkable  experiments  in  elec 
tricity,  by  which  he  had  enriched  human  knowledge 
and  won  fame  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  establishment  of  the  American  Philosophical  So 
ciety  was  an  expression  of  Franklin's  belief  that  the 
advancement  of  learning  was  one  of  the  highest  concerns 
of  mankind,  and  that  in  comparison  with  it  the  settling 
of  colonies  and  the  satisfaction  of  their  material  wants 
was,  to  use  his  own  language,  but  "  drudgery."  How 
closely  did  this  belief  resemble  that  which  led,  in  the 
preceding  century,  to  the  founding  of  Harvard  College, 
as  now  recorded  on  the  College  walls: 


2i8  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

After  God  had  carried  us  safe  to  New  England 

And  wee  had  builded  our  houses 
Provided  necessaries  for  our  livelihood 
Reard  convenient  places  for  Gods  worship 

And  settled  the  civill   government 
One  of  the  next  things  we  longed  for 
And  looked  after  was  to  advance  learning 

And  perpetuate  it  to  posterity 

These  two  Societies  of  Scholars  being  thus  bound 
together  by  a  common  interest  in  the  person  of  Frank 
lin,  and  by  a  common  devotion  to  the  cause  he  served, 
the  University  now  presents  its  hearty  felicitations  to  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  and  bespeaks  for  it  con 
tinued  prosperity  in  the  fulfilment  of  its  high  purpose. 
Given  in  Cambridge,  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  April, 
in  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and  six. 

THE  PRESIDENT  AND  FELLOWS 
(SEAL)  OF  HARVARD  COLLEGE 

BY  JEROME  DAVIS  GREENE, 

Secretary. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  219 


THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY 

The  Royal  Society  of  London  for  Promoting  Natural 
Knowledge  send  cordial  greetings  to  The  American 
Philosophical  Society  held  at  Philadelphia  for  Pro 
moting  Useful  Knowledge  on  the  occasion  of  the  second 
centenary  of  the  birth  of  their  chief  founder  and  pro 
moter. 

Benjamin  Franklin  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
Society  by  right  of  birth.  His  surname  alone  would 
mark  him  for  all  time  as  a  product  of  the  civic  insti 
tutions  developed  by  the  Anglosaxon  race,  the  common 
heritage  of  two  hemispheres. 

For  a  long  period  Franklin  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  Royal  Society  in  advancing  the  aim  imposed  by 
their  ancient  charter,  the  Promotion  of  Natural  Knowl 
edge,  alike  by  his  own  weighty  and  trenchant  experi 
ments  and  insight  and  by  the  stimulating  correspondence 
which  he  carried  on  with  his  fellow  members.  The 
Royal  Society  call  to  mind  the  early  days  when  the 
Leyden  Phial,  then  a  wonderful  novelty,  was  introduced 
as  a  gift  from  one  of  their  Fellows  to  the  small  and 
unpretending  intellectual  circle  in  the  remote  Colony 
at  Philadelphia;  and  the  remarkable  correspondence 
which  soon  followed,  recounting  how  the  new  power 


220  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

had  been  probed  and  illustrated  by  the  Colonial  Philoso 
phers  in  many  aspects,  with  a  directness  and  insight 
which  might  in  more  settled  times  have  given  promise 
of  an  earlier  Faraday.  They  recall  that  soon  after,  in 
T753>  trie  Copley  Medal  was  conferred  upon  Franklin 
for  his  achievement  in  the  identification  and  control  of 
the  forces  of  lightning:  that  he  was  elected  a  Fellow 
of  the  Royal  Society  in  1756,  his  name  by  a  special 
resolution  being  inserted  on  the  register  without  waiting 
his  attendance  for  admission,  and  the  customary  annual 
payments  of  a  Fellow  being  foregone:  that  he  began  a 
period  of  active  administrative  connexion  by  serving 
on  the  Council  in  1760:  that  he  used  his  ability  and  in 
fluence  to  uphold  Priestley  when  in  trouble  in  1767: 
that  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  Committees  which 
in  1769  advised  on  the  protection  from  lightning  of  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral  and  the  magazines  at  Purfleet. 

When  by  stress  of  political  disturbance  he  was  called 
upon  to  play  the  part  of  a  citizen  in  times  of  danger, 
by  the  efficiency  and  dignity  of  simple  intellect  he  moved 
as  a  power  among  the  controlling  social  forces  of  the 
world.  As  in  another  famous  case,  the  fraternity  of 
Science  and  its  aim  towards  the  intellectual  develop 
ment  of  mankind  were  hardly  allowed  to  be  interrupted 
by  the  passion  of  those  discordant  activities,  against  any 
possible  recurrence  of  which  it  is  now  our  own  duty 
to  provide.  Had  the  intense  and  steadfast  genius  of 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  221 

Franklin  and  his  small  band  of  American  Philosophers 
been  permitted  to  find  undisturbed  satisfaction  in  the 
affairs  of  the  mind,  the  rise  and  rapid  advance  of 
American  Science  might  have  been  antedated  by  a 
century. 

When  the  silken  chain  of  connexion  with  the  mother 
country  had  become  hopelessly  broken,  it  was  the  care 
of  Franklin  to  foster  in  the  new  community  those  in 
tellectual  institutions  in  which  he  had  detected  a  potent 
source  of  progress  and  welfare  in  the  older  land.  The 
Royal  Society  are  glad  to  recognize  in  the  Statutes  and 
Regulations  which  were  framed  for  the  American  Philo 
sophical  Society  during  the  long  period  of  the  Presi 
dency  of  Benjamin  Franklin  a  close  affinity  to  their 
own  ancient  Statutes. 

By  reason  of  these  weighty  historical  associations  the 
Royal  Society  take  pleasure  in  offering  their  felicita 
tions  to  one  of  their  daughter  Societies  on  the  occasion 
of  the  bicentenary  of  an  illustrious  man  whose  fame 
they  inherit  in  common. 

Signed  and  sealed  on  behalf  of  the  Royal  Society 
for  Promoting  Natural  Knowledge. 
(SEAL)  RAYLEIGH, 

President. 
March   15,    1906. 


222  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


R.   ACCADEMIA   DI    SCIENZE,    LETTERE 
ED  ARTI 

R.  ACCADEMIA 

DI 
SCIENZE,  LETTERE  ED  ARTI. 

Modena,   15  Febbraio,   1906. 

Questa  R.  Accademia  ha  sommamente  gradito  1'invito 
della  Societa  filosofica  Americana  di  Filadelfia  di  pren- 
der  parte  alia  solenne  celebrazione  del  secondo  cen- 
tenario  dalla  nascita  di  BENIAMINO  FRANKLIN:  ed  e 
con  molto  rincrescimento  che  dobbiamo  dichiarare  di 
non  poter  corrispondere  a  tanta  cortesia. 

Niuno  di  noi  per  particolari  occupazioni  e  per  la  dis- 
tanza  de'  luoghi  pue  recarsi  costa. 

Ci  piace  nondimeno  assicurarvi  che  col  nostro  pensiero 
savemo  presenti  alle  feste  che  codesta  Societa  ha  indetto 
nel  prossimo  venture  mese  d'aprile  per  commemorare  il 
grande  Filosofo  e  fautore  dell'  Indipendenza  degli  Stati 
Uniti  d'America  Beniamino  Franklin,  nome  tanto  noto 
e  caro  agli  Italiani.  n  Presidente) 

Alia  Societa  Filosofica,  GENERALI. 

Americana, 

Filadelfia. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  223 


DIE     KAISERLICH     LEOPOLDINISCH-CARO- 

LINISCH   DEUTSCHE  AKADEMIE  DER 

NATURFORSCHER 

DER  SEHR  GEEHRTEN 

AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

DER    ALTESTEN    WISSENSCHAFTLICHEN    GESELLSCHAFT 

AMERIKAS  SENDET 

DIE  KAISERLICH  LEOPOLDINISCH-CAROLINISCH  DEUT 
SCHE  AKADEMIE  DER  NATURFORSCHER, 

DIE  ALTESTE  DEUTSCHE  AKADEMIE, 
ZUR  ZWEIHUNDERTJAHRESFEIER  VON 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 
DIE  HERZLICHSTEN  GLUCKWUNSCHE. 

Unsre  Akademie  verehrt  in  Franklin  vor  allem  den 
hervorragenden  Forscher,  dem  es  als  Erstem  gelungen 
ist,  den  elektrischen  Funken  zu  meistern,  und  der  sich 
durch  die  Erfindung  des  Blitzableiters  nicht  allein  um 
die  Wissenschaft,  nein,  um  die  ganze  Menschheit 
ein  unsterbliches  Verdienst  erworben  hat.  Doch 
nicht  nur  dem  Gelehrten  gilt  unsre  Verehrung,  son- 
dern  auch  dem  Patrioten  und  Staatsmann,  der  an 
der  Befreiung  seines  Vaterlandes  einen  so  hervorra- 


224  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

genden  Anteil  genommen  und  wesentlich  dazu  beige- 
tragen  hat,  dass  die  einst  wenig  bedeutende  Kolonie  zu 
einem  der  machtigsten  Staatengebilde  des  Erdrundes 
emporgediehen  ist  Nicht  minder  hoch  schatzen  wir 
Franklin  als  Menschen  und  Philanthropen.  Wir 
bewundern  ihn  als  einen  der  Wenigen,  denen  es  gelun- 
gen  ist,  sich  lediglich  durch  eigne  Kraft  aus  niederem 
Stande  zu  einer  Leuchte  der  Menschheit  emporzusch- 
wingen,  als  einen  Mann,  der  wurdig  ist,  in  jeder  Bezie- 
hung  der  Nachwelt  als  ein  der  Nacheiferung  wertes 
Beispiel  hingestellt  zu  werden.  Sein  Leben  ist  ein 
Beweis  dafur,  dafs  zum  Talent  sich  auch  nie  ermudender 
Fleiss  und  Willenskraft  gesellen  mussen,  wenn  grosse 
Dinge  vollbracht  werden  sollen.  Wahrlich,  die  Amer 
ican  Philosophical  Society  kann  mit  Recht  stolz  auf 
diesen  ihren  Grunder  sein. 

Gestatten  Sie  uns,  diesen  Worten  der  Bewunderung 

fur  den  Mann,  dem  Ihre  Feier  vom  17-20.     April  d.  J. 

gilt,    unsre    aufrichtigsten    Wunsche    fur    das    fernere 

Bluhen  und  Gedeihen  Ihrer  Gesellschaft  hinzuzufugen. 

Halle  a.  S.,  den  5  April  1906. 

Der  Prasident  der  Kaiserl.  Leopold-Carol.  Deutschen 

Akademie  der  Naturforscher. 

DR.  A.  WANGERIN. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  225 


THE    UNIVERSITY   OF    LUND 

TO 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 
PHILADELPHIA. 

The  University  of  Lund  acknowledges  the  honour  of 
having  received  the  invitation  to  partake  in  the  cele 
bration  of  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the 

birth  of 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

We  are  persuaded  that  congratulations  will  arrive 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  and  we  are  glad  to  join  in 
the  expressions  of  the  feelings  of  all  mankind  not  for 
getting  our  special  national  pride  of  having  founded  a 
civilizing  work  on  the  shores  of  Delaware  —  a  work 
afterwards  continued  with  such  glory  and  success  by 
Philadelphia,  the  town  of  William  Penn  and  Benjamin 
Franklin. 

With  best  regards  and  sympathy. 

SEVED  RIBBING, 

Rector. 
Lund,  March  the  26th,   1906. 


16 


226  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


YALE  UNIVERSITY 

TO 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

which  from  the  very  first  has  taken  the  lead  in  all 
matters  relating  to  the  advancement  of  science  in  both 
hemispheres, 

YALE  UNIVERSITY 

sends  its  cordial  greetings  on  the  occasion  of  the  Frank 
lin  Bicentenary. 

More  than  a  century  and  a  half  has  elapsed  since 
Yale  College  had  the  privilege  of  enrolling  Benjamin 
Franklin  in  the  list  of  its  honorary  graduates.  We 
are  glad  to  think  that  the  subsequent  tributes  accorded 
him  by  older  universities  did  not  dim  the  memory  of 
that  which  he  received  so  early  in  his  career.  We  on 
our  part  have  never  ceased  to  be  proud  to  have  on  our 
rolls  the  name  of  one  who  not  only  made  great  dis 
coveries  and  directed  large  affairs,  but  also  by  his  pro 
found  study  of  Nature's  laws  was  able  to  simplify  our 
conceptions  of  physical  phenomena. 

Given  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  on  the  sixteenth 
day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  nineteen  hundred 

and  six. 

ARTHUR  TWINING  HADLEY. 

LEE  MCCLUNG. 
(SEAL) 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  227 


KONGLIGA    VETENSKAPS-SOCIETEN 

SOCIETATI  PHILOSOPHY 
PHILADELPHIENSI 

S.  P.  D. 

REGIA  SOCIETAS  SCIENTIARUM 
UPSALIENSIS. 

Quod  Vos,  Viri  Clarissimi  perhumaniter  nos  invitastis, 
ut  ad  sollemnia  bisaecularia,  quibus  proximo  mense 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLINI 

natalem  celebraturi  estis,  Vobiscum  obeunda  aliquem  e 
coetu  nostro  legaremus,  gratias  Vobis  .quam  maximas 
agimus.  Cui  voluntati  Vestrae  nobis  tarn  honorificae, 
si  tempora  rerumque  nostrarum  rationes  id  paterentur, 
libenti  animo  obsequeremur.  Nunc  vero,  quominus  id 
faciamus,  non  modo  itineris  longinquitate,  sed  etiam 
variis  sociorum  nostrorum  occupationibus  prohibemur. 
Itaque  nihil  relinquitur,  nisi  ut,  quae  coram  eloqui  non 
licebit,  hac  qualicunque  epistula  significemus. 

Ac  ne  in  rebus,  quae  nullo  verborum  egent  ornatu, 
praedicandis  longiores  simus,  hoc  Vobis  gratulamur, 
quod  immortale  illud  populi  American!  decus, 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLINUM,  libertatis  vindicem  constants- 


228  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

simum,  consiliorum  publicorum  moderatorem  prudentis- 
simum,  naturae  investigatorem  sagacissimum  artiumque 
bonarum  omnium  patronum  sapientissimum,  sodalicii 
Vestri  auctorem  ferre  Vobis  licet.  Qua  cum  laude  haec 
non  minor  coniuncta  est,  quod  Societas  Vestra,  cum  per 
amplium  iam  temporis  spatium  ea  studia,  quae  ad 
rerum  naturam  in  dagandam  hominumque  vitam  utilibus 
inventis  excolendam  pertinent,  strenue  insignique  cum 
fructu  adiuvaret  et  promoveret,  dignam  se  tali  parente 
alumnan  praestitit.  Quare,  sicut  Summi  illius  Viri 
memoriam,  quamvis  magno  terrarum  mariumque  inter- 
vallo  diiuncti,  Vobiscum  veneramur,  ita  festum,  quod 
paratis,  optimis  prosequimur  omnibus  Societatique  Ves- 
trae  omnia  in  posterum  laeta,  fausta,  felicia  optamus  et 
precamur.  Valete. 

Dabamus  Upsaliae  m.  Martio.  a.  MDCCCCVI. 

Regiae  Societatis  Scientiarum  Upsaliensis  nomine 

O.  A.  DANIELSSON, 

Praeses. 

N.  C.  DUNER, 

A  Secretis. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  229 


PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY 

PRAESES,  CURATORES,  PROFESSORES 
VNIVERSITATIS  PRINCETONIENSIS 
VlRIS  ILLVSTRISSIMIS  DOCTISSIMIS 

PRAESIDI  ET  SODALIBVS 

SOCIETATIS  PHILOSOPHICAE  AMERICANAE 

S.  P.  D. 

Patres  et  conditores  amplissimae  hvivs  reipvblicae 
nihil  antiqvivs  habvervnt  qvam  vt  advlescentes  nostri  ad 
omnem  hvmanitatem  informarentvr  quo  meliores  evade- 
rent  cives,  ac  sibi  et  reipvblicae  honori  et  emolvmento 
esse  possent.  Inter  eos  qvi,  civitatis  fvndamentis  vix 
iactis  scientiarvm  sedes  constitvervnt,  praecipvvm  tenvit 
ac  tenet  locvm  praeclarrimvs  ille  vir 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

ex  qvo  nato  annvm  dvcentesimvm  iam  exactvm,  feriis 
saecvlaribvs,  proximo  mense  celebratvri  estis.  Plvrima 
qvidem  stvdiosorvm  hominvm  inter  se  commvnia  svnt: 
aeqvi  veriqve  inqvisitio,  docendi  discendique  libertas, 
volvntatvm  consiliorvmqve  consensio,  clarorvm  libera- 


230  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

livmqve  virorvm  memoria.  Nos  ergo  in  Avla  Nassovica 
commorantes  maxime  decet  illivs  colere  memoriam 

Patriae  amatoris 
Libertatis  avctoris 
Scientiae  favtoris 

Qvapropter  volvntati  vestrae  libentes  obsecvti  vicarios 
delegavimvs  viros  praestantes  Gvlielmvm  Berryman 
Scott,  Geologiae  Professorem,  et  Gvlielmvm  Franciscvm 
Magie,  Physicae  Professorem,  nee  non  secretarium  aca- 
demici  ordinis  nostri,  quorvm  alter  consangviriitate, 
alter  affinitate  Franklin  illi  magno  est  conivnctus,  vt 
benigno  hospitio  accepti  salvtem  vobis  impertiant  plvri- 

mam  et  plenissimam.     Valete. 

WOODROW  WILSON, 

Praeses. 
Dabamvs  in  Avla  Nassovica 

Vniversitatis    Princetoniensis 
in  Repvblica  NeoCaesariensi 
A.D.  XIV.  Kal.  Apr.  MCMVI. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  231 


L'ACADEMIE  DES  SCIENCES,  INSCRIPTIONS 
ET  BELLES-LETTRES  DE  TOULOUSE 

ADRESSE  VOTEE  PAR  L'ACADEMIE  DES 

SCIENCES,  INSCRIPTIONS  ET  BELLES-LETTRES  DE 

TOULOUSE  A  L'OCCASION  DE  LA  CELEBRATION  DU 

DEUXIEME  CENTENAIRE  DE  LA  NAISSANCE  DE 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

Les  Academies  provinciales  franchises,  qui  jouerent 
vers  1750  un  si  grand  role  pour  la  diffusion,  la  vulgarisa 
tion  et  la  verification  des  idees  geniales  de  Benjamin 
Franklin  sur  1'Electricite,  ne  sauraient  rester  indiffer- 
entes  a  la  celebration  du  deuxieme  centenaire  de  la 
naissance  de  1'illustre  savant. 

A  ce  titre,  1'Academie  des  Sciences,  Inscriptions  et 
Belles-Lettres  de  Toulouse  est  qualifiee  pour  exprimer 
a  la  Societe  philosophique  americaine  toute  la  part 
qu'elle  prend  a  la  manifestation  des  17,  18,  19  et  20 
Avril,  1906. 

L'impossibilite  materielle  ou  1'Academie  s'est  trouvee 
de  se  faire  representer  par  un  de  ses  membres  aux  fetes 
memorables  qui  se  preparent  en  1'honneur  du  grand 
citoyen  de  Boston,  n'afYaiblit  en  rien  Tenthousiasme 


232  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

qu'elle  ressent  pour  1'oeuvre  emancipatrice  a  laquelle 
Franklin  a  attache  son  nom  et  qui  n'a  d'egal  que  1'ad- 
miration  qu'elle  professe  pour  son  oeuvre  scientifique. 

Peu  d'hommes  ont  eu,  a  un  degre  aussi  eminent,  la 
passion  de  la  patrie  et  celle  de  la  science;  c'est  pourquoi, 
dans  tous  les  temps,  le  nom  de  Franklin  s'elevera  au- 
dessus  de  beaucoup  d'autres. 

L'Academie  des  Sciences,  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres 
de  Toulouse  ne  peut  oublier  que  la  personne  de  Frank 
lin  etait  a  elle  seule,  autrefois,  un  trait  d'union  entre  la 
France  et  les  Etats-Unis;  elle  souhaite  que  son  grand 
nom  continue  de  cimentcr  dans  1'avenir  1'amitie  des  deux 
grands  peuples  comme  il  1'a  fait  dans  le  passe. 

Honneur  a  Benjamin  Franklin! 

Honneur  aux  nations  qui  immortalisent  le  souvenir  de 
leurs  illustres  enfants! 

Toulouse,  le  6  Avril,  1906, 
Pr  Le  Secretaire  perpetuel, 
Le  Secretaire  adjoint, 

G.  MATHIAS. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  233 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

PRESENTS  GREETINGS  AND  CONGRATULATIONS  TO  THE 
AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

upon  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  Birth  of 
the  Founder  of  the  Society. 

Recognizing  the  eminent  services  of 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

to  the  advancement  of  education  the  encouragement  of 
Scientific  research  and  the  cultivation  of  higher  thought 
it  is  but  fitting  that  this  occasion  should  be  honored 
by  all  institutions  of  learning  and  more  especially  by 
the  University  which  has  succeeded  the  College  founded 
and  first  presided  over  by  Samuel  Johnson  the  contem 
porary  and  friend  of  Franklin.  King's  College  and  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  coming  into  existence 
almost  simultaneously  were  alike  imbued  with  a  broad 
and  philosophic  conception  of  their  obligation  to  con 
tribute  toward  the  enlightenment  of  the  new  world. 

The  Society  in  cherishing  the  sacred  flame  which  was 
lighted  upon  its  altar  by  its  Founder  has  most  worthily 
perpetuated  his  memory  and  in  respectful  appreciation 


234  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

of  the  results  which  the  Society  throughout  its  long  and 
distinguished  history  has  accomplished  towards  the 
advancement  of  philosophy  and  science  and  towards  the 
attainment  of  the  noble  ideals  for  which  it  was  estab 
lished  the  University  offers  its  cordial  felicitations. 

IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF  the  Trustees  of  Columbia  Col 
lege  in  the  City  of  New  York  have  caused  these  pres 
ents  to  be  executed  and  their  corporate  seal  to  be  affixed 
the  seventeenth  day  of  April  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  six. 

(SEAL) 

NICHOLAS  MURRAY  BUTLER,          G.  L.  RIVES, 

President.  Chairman. 

JOHN  B.  PINE, 

Clerk. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  235 


BATAAFSCH   GENOOTSCHAP   DER 
PROEFONDERVINDELIJKE    WIJSBEGEERTE 

(SEAL)  ROTTERDAM,  February,  1906. 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  HELD  AT 
PHILADELPHIA,  FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 

The  "  BataafschGenootschap  derProefondervindelijke 
Wijsbegeerte"  at  Rotterdam  is  happy  in  having  the  op 
portunity  of  congratulating  your  Society  on  the  memor 
able  Celebration  of  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary  of 
the  birth  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  the  founder  of  your 
Society. 

It  would  not  suit  our  purpose  to  dwell  upon  his  great 
merits  in  the  domain  of  physical  and  political  science. 

It  may  be  sufficient  to  declare  that  our  Society  feels 
most  honoured,  that  Benjamin  Franklin  belonged  to  its 
first  members,  and  acknowledges  with  gratitude,  that 
his  glory  has  favoured  the  rise  of  the  "  Bataafsch  Genoot- 
schap" 

The  Direction  of  the  "Bataafsch  Genootschap  " 
Praeses  Magnificus, 

F.    B.    S'JACOB. 
First  Secretary, 

DR.    G.   J.   W.    BREMER. 


236  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS  AND 

SCIENCES 

TO  THE 

AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

A  GREETING  FROM  THE 
AMERICAN  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 

On  this  memorable  day,  when  the  oldest  learned  so 
ciety  in  the  United  States  is  celebrating  with  due  honor 
the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  her  illus 
trious  Founder,  her  next  younger  sister,  The  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  feels  pride  and  pleas 
ure  in  offering  to  her  most  respectful  congratula 
tions  and  most  affectionate  greetings.  Our  delegates 
are  in  doubt  whether  they  should  congratulate  the 
Philosophical  Society  more  heartily  on  her  venerable 
age  and  her  distinguished  service  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty-three  years  in  the  cause  of  learning,  or 
on  the  vigorous  activity  in  which  she  now  appears 
before  them  "flourishing  in  an  immortal  youth." 
In  her  present  freshness  we  see  the  perennial  youth  of 
her  great  Founder,  who  was  never  more  thoroughly  alive 
and  never  more  devotedly  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen  than  he  is  on  this  two-hundredth  anniversary 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  237 

of  his  birth.  And  we  fervently  hope  that  this  society, 
one  of  his  first  and  greatest  memorials,  may  long  survive 
to  give  ever  fresh  dignity  to  his  illustrious  name. 

The  American  Academy  was  founded  in  1780,  thirty- 
seven  years  later  than  your  society.  These  venerable 
associations,  which  saw  the  nation  established  and  helped 
in  no  small  measure  in  its  establishment,  have  always 
striven  to  be  national  in  their  character.  Though  the 
men  who  were  incorporated  as  the  American  Academy 
in  1780  were  all  citizens  of  Massachusetts,  among  them 
being  John  Adams,  Samuel  Adams,  and  John  Hancock, 
in  less  than  nine  months  we  find  on  its  roll  Benjamin 
Franklin  of  Philadelphia,  and  George  Washington  of 
Mt.  Vernon,  Virginia;  and  not  much  later  Thomas  Jef 
ferson,  Benjamin  Rush,  John  Jay,  Alexander  Hamilton, 
and  James  Madison,  all  as  ordinary  members,  with  full 
rights  and  privileges.  Both  John  Adams  and  John 
Quincy  Adams  retained  the  presidency  of  the  Academy 
while  they  held  the  presidency  of  the  United  States. 

We  feel  that  we  cannot  better  express  the  high  re 
gard  in  which  our  Academy  holds  the  Philosophical 
Society  than  by  repeating  the  words  with  which  the  late 
Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  the  orator  of  the  Academy 
on  its  hundredth  anniversary  in  1880,  greeted  the  dele 
gates  of  this  Society.  After  alluding  to  the  Old  South 
Meeting  house  in  Boston,  in  which  he  was  speaking,  as 
the  place  where  the  infant  child  of  an  humble  tallow- 


238  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

chandler,  who  was  brought  in  a  blanket  from  his  par 
ent's  house  just  across  the  street  on  the  very  day  of  his 
birth,  January  6,  1706,  received  from  the  pastor's  lips 
the  name  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  Mr.  Winthrop  thus 
spoke  :— 

"We  may  not  forget  that,  while  the  history  of  Amer 
ican  Arts  and  Sciences  may  fairly  begin  with  our  Bos 
ton-born  apprentice,  that  history  must  turn  to  another 
city  and  another  state  for  the  opening  pages  of  its  earliest 
chapter.  Old  as  we  are,  we  cannot  claim  the  distinction 
of  being  the  oldest  of  American  scientific  associations; 
and  we  are  rejoiced  to  recognize  and  to  welcome  among 
our  guests  to-day  a  distinguished  delegation  from  our 
elder  sister,  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of 
Philadelphia,  which  was  founded  by  Franklin  not  a 
great  many  years  after  he  had  run  away,  as  a  lad  of 
seventeen,  from  his  apprenticeship  and  indentures  here, 
and  had  established  himself  in  the  City  of  Brotherly 
Love.  That  noble  city  has  a  heritage  of  historic  glory, 
which  may  well  be  the  admiration,  if  not  the  envy,  of 
all  other  American  cities.  But  it  is  as  the  acknowl 
edged  birthplace  of  the  first  American  philosophical 
Society  that  we  hail  it  especially  on  this  occasion,  and 
welcome  the  delegates  from  that  city  and  from  that 
Society  with  an  exceptional  emphasis  and  fervor.  We 
welcome,  indeed,  most  heartily  on  this  occasion  every  one 
of  the  delegates  who  have  honored  us  by  their  presence 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  239 

from  other  cities  and  states;  but  they  will  pardon  us, 
I  am  sure,  for  confining  our  first  individual  recognition, 
here  and  now,  to  the  parent  Philosophical  Society  of 
Philadelphia." 

WILLIAM  W.  GOODWIN,  President. 
(SEAL)  W.  M.  DAVIS. 

Boston,  April  17,  1906. 


240  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


MANCHESTER 
LITERARY  AND   PHILOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society 
sends  greetings  to  its  sister  The  American  Philosophical 
Society  for  Promoting  Useful  Knowledge  on  the  occa 
sion  of  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  birth  of 
its  founder,  Benjamin  Franklin. 

As  a  philosopher,  statesman,  and  diplomatist,  and  as 
a  pioneer  in  the  scientific  fields  of  capillarity,  acoustics, 
electricity  and  meteorology,  Dr.  Franklin  will  long  be 
remembered,  and  his  intimate  association  with  your  So 
ciety  is  a  circumstance  of  which  you  may  be  justly 

proud. 

W.  H.  BAILEY,  K.B., 

President. 

FRANCIS  JONES, 

CHARLES  H.  LEES, 

Hon.  Secretaries. 
April  6th,  1906. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  241 


REGIA  SOCIETAS  SCIENTIARUM 
BOHEMICA 

REGIA 

SOCIETAS  SCIENTIARUM  BOHEMICA 
ROYAL,  562-1. 

Prague,  March  3oth,  1906. 

The  Royal  Bohemian  Society  of  Sciences  begs  to 
acknowledge  with  many  thanks  the  kind  invitation  of 
the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia  to 
the  celebration  of  the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of 
Benjamin  Franklin's  birth. 

Fully  appreciating  all  the  deserts  of  the  Great  Man 
whose  memory  the  American  Philosophical  Society  is 
going  to  honour,  we  regret  deeply  that  none  of  our 
members  are  able  at  this  time  of  the  year  to  take  part 
in  the  festivities  personally.  Still  the  Royal  Bohemian 
Society  of  Sciences  has,  in  ordinary  meeting  on  the  yth 
inst,  resolved  unanimously  to  express  our  warmest  sym 
pathy,  and  to  add  our  heartfelt  wishes  that  it  may  be 
granted  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society  to  cele 
brate  many  happy  centennial  returns  of  this  solemn 
festivity. 

For  the  Royal  Bohemian  Society  of  Sciences: 

PROF.  DR.  V.  E.  MOUREK, 

(SEAL)  General  Secretary. 

17 


242  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    THE    STATE    OF 
NEW  YORK 

(SEAL) 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  THE 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK, 

FOUNDED  1784 

ACCEPTS  WITH  PLEASURE  THE  CORDIAL  INVITATION  OF 
THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

HELD  AT  PHILADELPHIA 

FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE 

TO  ASSIST  IN  THE  CELEBRATION  OF  THE  TWO 

HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  BIRTH  OF 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

The  achievements  of  the  Founder  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  always  highly  appreciated  by  the 
rest  of  the  world,  are  receiving  to-day  from  his  own 
countrymen  greater  evidences  of  his  skill  as  a  diploma 
tist,  and  his  services  as  a  patriot  which  hitherto  had 
been  limited  more  to  his  scientific  attainments. 

To  convey  properly  its  salutations  to  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  the  University  delegates 

REGENT  T.  GUILFORD  SMITH 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  243 

to  be  present  at  Philadelphia  on  the  days  appointed  for 
the  ceremonies  to  join  with  other  institutions  of  learning 
in  this  well  deserved  celebration. 
(SEAL)  ST.  CLAIR  MCKELWAY, 

Vice  Chancellor. 


244  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE    ROYAL    INSTITUTION    OF 
GREAT    BRITAIN 

THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN 
WHICH  CELEBRATED  ITS  CENTENARY  IN 
THE  YEAR  1899,  DESIRES  TO  OFFER  TO  THE 

AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 
HELD  AT  PHILADELPHIA  FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL 

KNOWLEDGE, 
ITS  CONGRATULATIONS  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE 

CELEBRATION  OF  THE 
Two  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  ITS 

FOUNDER  - 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

The  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain,  having  for  its 
primary  objects  the  prosecution  of  Scientific  Research 
and  the  illustration  and  diffusion  of  the  Principles  of 
Inductive  and  Experimental  Science,  recognizes  with 
sympathy  and  admiration  the  work  done  by  the  Amer 
ican  Philosophical  Society  held  at  Philadelphia  for  Pro 
moting  Useful  Knowledge  and  recalls  with  interest  and 
respect  the  Scientific  and  Experimental  Investigations 
of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  their  practical  utility  to  man 
kind;  and  desires  to  express  its  recognition  of  the  ser 
vices  rendered  by  this  distinguished  citizen,  philosopher, 
and  statesman.  NORTHUMBERLAND. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  245 


THE   ROYAL   PHILOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY  OF 

GLASGOW 

The  Royal  Philosophical  Society  of  Glasgow  sends 
heartiest  congratulations  to  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  held  at  Philadelphia,  for  Promoting  Useful 
Knowledge,  on  attaining  in  prosperity  and  much  success 
an  epoch  in  its  history  so  memorable  as  the  two-hun 
dredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  its  illustrious  Founder, 
Benjamin  Franklin. 

It  rejoices  at  the  opportunity  which  enables  it  to  take 
part  in  doing  honour  to  the  memory  of  this  truly  great 
man;  great  in  every  relation  of  life;  great  in  every  de 
partment  of  knowledge  that  he  cultivated,  not  less  than 
in  the  issue  of  all  his  undertakings;  and  recognizes  in 
the  institution  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
one  of  his  invaluable  and  enduring  services  to  America 
and  to  mankind. 

It  is  with  feelings  of  admiration  that  the  Royal  Philo 
sophical  Society  of  Glasgow  looks  back  upon  the  splen 
did  history  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  and 
sees  how  the  genius  and  enthusiasm  of  its  Members  bore 
it  through  all  difficulties  and  enabled  it  to  emerge  with 
added  vigour  to  carry  on  its  beneficent  mission;  and 


246  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

marks  the  parallel  with  the  vicissitudes  in  the  career  of 
Franklin  himself. 

The  Royal  Philosophical  Society  of  Glasgow  desires 
to  testify  how  amply  and  nobly  the  American  Philosoph 
ical  Society  has  fulfilled  the  design  of  its  Founder,  and 
how  great  is  the  debt  which  the  cause  of  knowledge  owes 
to  its  zeal  in  the  encouragement  of  research,  and  to  its 
efforts  in  the  dissemination  of  information  by  its  publica 
tions;  and  desires  also  to  express  the  earnest  hope  that 
it  may  long  maintain  its  place  as  the  oldest  scientific 
institution  in  the  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA;  and  that 
the  fair  promise  of  its  past  may  be  realized  in  a  future 
of  even  greater  prosperity  and  renown. 

Given  under  the  seal  and  in  name  of  the 
Royal  Philosophical  Society  of  Glasgow 
this  4th  day  of  April,  nineteen  hundred 

and  six. 
(SEAL)  DAVID  MURRAY, 

M.A.,  LL.D.,  F.S.A. 
President. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  247 


UNIVERSITE  DE  LYON 

(SEAL) 
Messieurs: 

L'Universite  de  Lyon  tient  a  honneur  d'avoir  etc  in 
vitee  par  la  Societe  philosophique  americaine  de  Phila- 
delphie  a  celebrer  le  deuxieme  centenaire  de  la  naissance 
de  Franklin.  Elle  aurait  ete  heureuse  de  pouvoir 
deleguer  1'un  de  ses  membres  a  cette  pieuse  et  grandiose 
ceremonie.  Nous  aurions  voulu  que  notre  hommage  fut 
traduit  de  vive  voix,  au  milieu  de  1'eclat  de  vos  fetes; 
vous  auriez  senti  plus  presente,  si  non  plus  sincere,  la 
sympathie  dont  nous  vous  prions  de  trouver  ici  1'expres- 
sion. 

Car  votre  illustre  fondateur  nous  est  cher  a  plus  d'un 
titre.  Nous  savons  ce  que  lui  doit  la  science,  et  comment 
se  sont  unis  en  lui  pour  le  service  de  1'humanite  le  genie 
de  la  decouverte  et  le  genie  de  1'invention.  Epris  de 
science  pure  et  toute  bienfaisante,  non  de  succes  person 
nel,  il  ne  discuta  jamais  pour  defendre  ses  opinions  scien- 
tifiques  "  si  elles  sont  justes,  disait-il,  la  verite  et  1'ex- 
perience  les  soutiendront;  si  elles  sont  fausses,  il  est  bon 
qu'on  les  refute." 

Nous  admirons  le  zele  qu'il  a  deploye  toute  sa  vie 
pour  developper  Tenseignement  du  peuple,  pour  fonder 


248  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

des  ecoles  et  des  bibliotheques,  pour  repandre  le  bienfait 
de  sa  propre  experience  et  le  secret  de  ses  vertus.  Mais 
nous  admirons  surtout  1'ardeur  qui  1'a  porte,  a  travers 
tant  d'obstacles,  vers  les  hautes  etudes  scientifiques.  S'il 
ecrivit  et  publia  bien  avant  1'age  ou  1'on  devient  etudiant, 
il  se  fit  etudiant  a  40  ans  passes.  II  dut  a  sa  volonte  autant 
qu'a  son  genie  de  devenir  bientot  un  maitre,  de  meriter 
les  honneurs  universitaires  sans  avoir  jamais  etudie  dans 
aucun  college.  C'est  pour  nous  et  pour  les  jeunes  gens 
dont  nous  avons  a  diriger  1'effort  vers  la  science  le  plus 
precieux  enseignement,  la  plus  grande  legon  que  nous 
devions  retenir  de  cette  belle  vie. 

Ces  sentiments,  Messieurs,  sont  ceux  qui  unissent  dans 
le  monde  entier  sur  le  nom  de  Franklin  tous  les  amis  de 
la  science.  Mais  notre  pays  en  ressent  1'emotion  avec 
une  particuliere  sympathie.  Notre  pensee  aime  a  re- 
vivre  le  temps  ou  votre  glorieux  concitoyen  etait  accueilli 
chez  nous  avec  enthousiasme  par  une  foule  "  dont  les 
rangs  s'ouvraient  respectueusement  devant  lui."  Nous 
aimons  a  nous  souvenir  aussi  qu'il  a  dit  de  la  France 
qu'  "  elle  possede  au  plus  haut  degre,  par  dessus  toutes  les 
nations  de  la  terre,  1'art  de  se  faire  aimer  des  etrangers." 

Enfin,  notre  Universite  lyonnaise  a  d'autres  raisons 
encore  pour  honorer  la  memoire  de  Franklin.  S'il  n'est 
pas  venu  jusqu'a  Lyon,  il  a  entretenu  une  correspondance 
suivie  avec  un  de  nos  compatriotes  qui  est  devenu  son 
ami,  a  qui  il  suggera  mais  de  qui  il  regut  aussi  des  idees 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  249 

pour  des  fondations  utiles  au  bien  public.  Son  attention 
fut  attiree  par  le  renom  d'une  Societe  savante  ou  nous 
pourons  reconnaitre,  comme  1'Universite  de  Philadelphia 
reconnait  son  passe  dans  celui  de  votre  Societe,  une  pre 
miere  ebauche  de  notre  Universite.  Et  il  accepta  ou 
plutot  souhaita  d'etre  membre  associe  de  I'Academie  de 
Lyon  qui  1'elut  en  sa  seance  du  31  Mai,  1785. 

Vous  nous  permettrez  done  de  dire,  Messieurs,  que 
tous  ces  souvenirs  nous  associent  de  plus  pres  et  plus 
intimement  a  votre  pensee.  L'Universite  de  Lyon  se 
plait  a  les  rappeler  aujourd'hui,  en  offrant  son  tribut 
d'hommages  a  la  memoire  du  fondateur  de  votre  illustre 
Compagnie,  du  grand  savant,  du  grand  citoyen  en  qui 
1'humanite  reconnait  un  de  ses  bienfaiteurs,  une  de  ses 
gloires  les  plus  pures. 

Le  Recteur,  President  du  Conseil  de  1'Universite  de 

Lyon, 

ROUBIN. 
Avril,  1906. 


250  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


PHYSIKALISCH-MEDICINISCHE     SOCIETAT 
ZU   ERLANGEN 

PHYSIKALISCH-MEDICINISCHE 
SOCIETAT  zu  ERLANGEN. 

Erlangen,  den  18  Marz,  1906. 

Der  American  Philosophical  Society  habe  ich  die 
Ehre  im  Auftrag  unserer  Societat  den  verbindlichsten 
Dank  fur  die  freundliche  Einladung  zur  zweihundert- 
jahrigen  Geburtsfeier  Benjamin  Franklins,  des  grossen 
Menschen,  Forschers  und  Staats-mannes,  zu  ubermitteln. 
Leider  ist  es  uns  nicht  moglich  durch  einen  Delegierten 
uns  an  der  Feier  zu  beteiligen,  wie  wir  gehofft  hatten, 
aber  im  Geiste  werden  wir  an  der  Feier  teilnehmen, 
wie  es  die  ganze  nicht  nur  gelehrte  sondern  iiberhaupt 
gebildete  Menschheit  diesem  grossen  vorbildlichen 
Manne  schuldig  ist. 

In  vorziiglicher  Hochachtung 

ganz  ergebenst 
der  derztge  I.  Sekretar, 

PROF.  D.  A.  SPULER. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  251 


IMPERATORSKIJ    S.    PETERBURSKIJ 
UNIVERSITET 

THE  IMPERIAL  ST.  PETERSBURG  UNIVERSITY  COUNCIL 

SENDS  GREETING  TO 
THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

HELD  AT  PHILADELPHIA 
FOR   PROMOTING  USEFUL   KNOWLEDGE. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary 
of  the  birth  of  the  famous  public  worker,  true  patriot 
and  great  scholar,  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  gave  man 
kind  a  weapon  of  defence  against  the  formidable  force 
of  Nature  —  lightning,  and  by  his  remarkable  researches 
greatly  advanced  the  study  of  electric  phenomena.  The 
name  of  Franklin  will  remain  memorable  for  ever. 
Long  may  the  Philosophical  Society  founded  by  Frank 
lin  likewise  flourish  and  prosper. 

I.    BORGMANN,    Rector, 
J.  WRAM,  Dean, 
V.  SHEHOUSKI, 

W.  SCHIMKEWITSCH, 

W.  SERGIEVIC. 


252  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  ROYAL  ASTRONOMICAL  SOCIETY 

We,  the  President  and  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Astro 
nomical  Society  send  greeting  to  the  American  Philo 
sophical  Society  on  the  occasion  of  the  two  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  birth  of  its  founder  and  first  Presi 
dent,  the  illustrious  philosopher  Benjamin  Franklin. 

We  offer  our  grateful  thanks  for  the  courtesy  which 
has  permitted  us  to  share  in  honouring  one  whose  gifts 
and  labours  have  called  forth  the  admiration  of  man 
kind. 

Especially  would  we  remember  the  brilliant  discov 
eries  which  established  the  identity  of  the  electric  dis 
charges  of  the  atmosphere  with  those  of  the  laboratory; 
which  may  justly  be  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  that 
science  which  to-day  unites  the  most  distant  and  majestic 
phenomena  of  the  Universe  in  the  bonds  of  physical 
identity. 

We  pray  a  long  and  prosperous  continuance  to  the 
Society  whose  foundation  rests  in  such  splendid  associa 
tions,  and  whose  work  has  for  so  long  contributed  to  the 
advancement  of  knowledge. 

Signed  and  sealed  at  the  Apartments  of  the  Society, 
the  ninth  day  of  March,  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  six. 

Burlington  House,  London.          W.  H.  MAW, 

President. 

(SEAL)  THOMAS  LEWIS, 

Secretary. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  253 


THE   ROYAL   SCOTTISH    SOCIETY  OF  ARTS 

(SEAL)  117  George  Street, 

EDINBURGH,  4th  April,   1906. 

To  The  American  Philosophical  Society: 

The  Royal  Scottish  Society  of  Arts  is  honoured  by  the 
invitation  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  to  be 
represented  at  the  zooth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of 
Benjamin  Franklin.  The  name  of  Franklin  is,  with 
reason,  respected  wherever  the  light  of  Science  has 
reached,  and  we  in  Scotland  are  second  to  none  in  our 
veneration  for  the  memory  of  the  illustrious  Founder  of 
your  Society. 

The  foundation  of  a  structure  is  a  measure  of  its 
strength;  and  to  the  fact,  that  your  Society  was  founded 
by  one  who  was  not  less  remarkable  for  the  notability 
of  his  character,  and  for  his  work  as  a  citizen,  than  for 
his  distinction  as  a  Scientist,  may  largely  be  due  the 
success  which  the  American  Philosophical  Society  has 
had  in  the  promotion  of  knowledge.  That  your  Society 
may  long  continue  its  noble  work,  fortified  by  the 
memory  of  the  good  works  of  Franklin  its  Founder,  and 
those  who  have  followed  in  his  steps,  is  our  earnest  hope. 
Signed  in  name  of  and  on  behalf  of  the  Royal  Scottish 
Society  of  Arts  by  T  HUDSON  BEARE, 

President. 
WM.  ALLAN  CARTER, 

Secretary. 


254  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE    BRITISH    ASSOCIATION    FOR    THE 
ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE 

(SEAL) 

WE,  THE  PRESIDENT  AND  COUNCIL  OF  THE 
BRITISH  ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF 

SCIENCE, 
HOLD  THAT  YOU,  THE 

President  and  Fellows  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  do  well  to  clebrate  the  two  hundredth  anniver 
sary  of  the  birth  of 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

For  the  commemorations  of  great  men  serve,  as  it  were, 
to  mark  the  rungs  in  the  ladder  of  progress  up  which 
mankind  has  climbed;  and,  further,  such  ceremonies  can 
hardly  fail  to  point  out  to  us,  the  living  generation,  how 
earnestly  we  must  strive  if  we  would  prove  ourselves 
worthy  descendants  of  our  great  predecessors. 

ALTHOUGH  Franklin  was  equally  great  as  a  States 
man  and  as  an  Investigator  of  Nature,  we  take  it  that 
it  is  as  a  Discoverer,  rather  than  as  one  of  the  Founders 
of  the  American  Commonwealth,  that  you  now  recall 
his  fame. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  255 

SCIENCE  knows  neither  frontier  nor  nationality;  and 
therefore  it  is  fitting  that  the  memory  of  one  of  the 
greatest  of  men  of  science  should  be  celebrated  at  an 
international  gathering. 

EVERY  nation  is,  however,  proud  of  its  achievements 
in  letters  and  science;  and  so  we  cannot  forbear  from 
claiming  our  share  in  the  fame  of  Franklin:  for  we 
recall  that  he  was  of  English  parentage,  and  did  not 
cease  to  be  a  citizen  of  our  Empire  until  he  had  at 
tained  the  age  of  seventy  years. 

OUR  Societies  possess  a  common  bond  in  that  we  are 
both  banded  together  for  the  promotion  of  Natural 
knowledge;  and  we  thank  you  for  giving  us  the  oppor 
tunity  of  taking  part  in  your  festival. 

MAY  your  Society  long  continue  to  be  in  the  future,  as 
it  has  been  in  the  past,  worthy  of  its  illustrious  founder. 

SIGNED,  on  behalf  of  the  Council, 

G.  H.  DARWIN, 
President  of  the  British  Association. 


256  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


NATURFORSCHENDE    GESELLSCHAFT, 
FREIBURG   I.   BREISGAU 

AN  DEN  VORSTAND  DER  Freiburg   B.   21.    II.   06. 

AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

Philadelphia 
Sehr  geehrte  Herren! 

Fur  die  giitige  Einladung  zur  Franklin — Feier  sage 
ich  Ihnen  im  Namen  unserer  Gesellschaft  verbind- 
lichsten  Dank;  wir  nehmen  an  Ihrem  Ehrentage  leb- 
haften  Anteil  &  begrussen  Sie  als  Schwestergesellschaft 
am  Geburtstage  des  Mannes,  den  sein  Geist  als  den 
unseren  ebenso  werden  liess,  wie  er  der  Ihrige  ist. 

Trotz  dieser  unserer  herzlichen  &  freudigen  Teil- 
nahme  ist  es  leide  bei  der  grossen  Entfernung  nicht 
moglich,  dass  einer  von  uns  personlich  zu  Ihrer  Feier 
erscheine,  wir  bedauern  das  ganz  ausserordentlich  & 
bitten  Sie,  es  zu  entschuldigen. 

Aber  wir  wollen  es  uns  nicht  nehmen  lassen,  Ihnen 
eine  Adresse  zu  ubersenden  &  bitten  Sie  dieselbe  Ihrer 
Sitzung  zur  Verlesung  zu  bringen. 
Mit  vorziiglicher  Hochachtung 

Ihr  sehr  ergebener, 

DR.  MED.  E.  FISCHER, 

Prof.  d.  Anatomic, 
Schriftfiihrer  der  Naturforschenden 
Gesellschaft. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  257 


KONGELIGE  NORDISKE  OLDSKRIFT 
SELSKAB 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 
AT  PHILADELPHIA. 

The  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries  has  the 
Honour  of  expressing  their  sympathy  on  the  occasion 
of  the  200th  birthday  of 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

Together  with  the  whole  learned  world,  we  bow  our 
selves  in  deep  veneration  to  the  memory  of  this  great 
citizen  of  the  world,  the  promoter  of  civilization  and 
science. 

To  The  American  Philosophical  Society,  which  is 
justly  proud  of  calling  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  its 
founder,  we  send  a  brotherly  greeting  and  our  sincere 
appreciation  of  the  connection  throughout  a  hundred 
years. 

THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  NORTHERN  ANTIQUARIES. 

Copenhagen,  March,   1906. 
E.  HOLM,  SOPHUS  MULLER, 

Vice-President.  Secretary. 


18 


258  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


MAGYAR  TUDOMANYOS  AKADEMIA 

MAGYAR  TUDOMANYOS  AKADEMIA. 

Budapest,  February  19,  1906. 
To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Philadelphia. 

In  answer  to  your  kind  invitation  to  attend  the  cele 
bration  of  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  birth 
of  your  illustrious  founder,  I  beg  to  thank  you,  in  the 
name  of  the  Magyar  Tudomanyos  Akademia,  for  the 
same,  and  to  inform  you  that  the  General  Meeting  of 
our  Academy  held  on  Jan.  29th  last,  instructed  me  to 
assure  you  of  our  feeling  of  admiration  and  reverence 
for  the  immortal  Franklin,  a  feeling  shared  by  all 
civilized  nations  and  to  send  you  on  this  occasion  our 

heartiest  greetings. 

Yours  faithfully, 

HEINRICH, 
General-Secretary. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  259 


(   UNIVERSITY 

\^  OF 

THE  CONNECTICUT  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

COMMEMORATING  THE  TWO-HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 

OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  ITS  FOUNDER,  APRIL   1906. 
Gentlemen: 

The  Connecticut  Historical  Society  has  done  me,  as 
its  President,  the  honor  of  designating  me  to  represent  it, 
in  accordance  with  your  kind  invitation,  at  the  com 
memorative  exercises  of  this  week;  and  as  I  am  pre 
vented  from  attending  until  the  closing  days,  I  desire 
to  offer  you  our  congratulations  in  written  words. 

That  which  has  been  accomplished  by  your  Society 
in  more  than  eight  score  years  of  honored  history  might 
well  call  for  recognition  from  any  who  at  all  know  the 
value  of  such  work  as  that  to  which  you  are  devoted  and 
its  influence  on  the  intellectual  and  moral  progress  of 
our  land;  but  you  are  rightly  seeking  now  "  consecrare 
origines  et  ad  deos  referre  auctoris."  And  if  the  his 
torian  of  Rome  could  claim  that  her  annals  would  justify 
her  in  making  any  assertion  whatever  as  to  the  dignity 
of  her  foundation,  we  cannot  be  amiss  in  confessing  that 
you  are  worthy  to  have  had  Franklin  for  your  founder 
and  that  in  celebrating  his  birth  you  are  honoring  both 


260  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

him   and  yourselves.     We  wish   for  you   in   the   future 
labors  and  success  surpassing  those  of  the  past  and  such 
as  shall  add  new  lustre  to  the  distinguished  name  beneath 
which  your  history  shall  continue  to  be  written. 
And  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Very  truly  yours, 

SAMUEL  HART. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  261 


THE   UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO 

(COAT  OF  ARMS) 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  SENDS 

GREETINGS  AND  CONGRATULATIONS  TO 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  CELEBRATION  OF  THE  TWO 

HUNDREDTH 

ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  ITS  FOUNDER 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

Whilst  expressing  unreserved  admiration  for  the  emi 
nent  services  rendered  by  Benjamin  Franklin  to  his  coun 
try  as  citizen,  statesman  and  diplomatist,  the  University 
of  Toronto  desires  more  especially  to  join  with  others  in 
honouring  his  memory  as  a  distinguished  pioneer  in  the 
field  of  American  scientific  discovery,  and  as  a  founder 
and  organizer  of  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  learn 
ing  and  the  advancement  of  science. 

J.  LOUDON,  W.  R.  MEREDITH, 

President.  Chancellor. 

JAMES  BREBNER,     (SEAL)        CHARLES  Moss, 

Registrar.  Vice-Chancellor. 

University   of   Toronto,    10   April,    1906. 


262  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE    ROYAL    GEOGRAPHICAL    SOCIETY 

FROM  THE  PRESIDENT 
THE  RIGHT  HON.  SIR  GEORGE  TAUBMAN  GOLDIE, 

K.C.M.G.,  F.R.S., 

AND  COUNCIL  OF  THE 

ROYAL  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY 

TO  THE 
AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  President  and  Council  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society,  on  behalf  of  the  Fellows,  desire  to  convey  to 
the  American  Philosophical  Society  their  warmest  con 
gratulations  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the 
2OOth  Anniversary  of  the  birth  of  its  Founder, 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

who  attained  distinction  in  so  many  directions.  It  is  a 
remarkable  feature  in  the  history  of  the  great  country, 
which  afterwards  became  the  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMER 
ICA,  that  so  early  in  its  career,  the  value  of  Science  and 
of  Research  should  have  been  recognized  by  the  founda- 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  263 

tion  of  a  Society  which  has  done  so  much  for  the  pro 
motion  of  KNOWLEDGE. 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

has  for  long  maintained  a  position  on  a  level  with  the 
Great  Scientific  Societies  of  the  World,  and  its  series 
of  publications,  as  well  known  in  Europe  as  in  America, 
fully  justify  that  position. 

The  President  and  Council  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society  feel  confident  that  the  same  high  standard' will 
be  maintained  by  their  Sister  Society  in  Philadelphia 
in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  and  they  desire  to  assure 
the  Society  of  their  cordial  good  wishes  for  its  prosperity 
and  success. 

On  behalf  of  the  Council  and  Fellows  of  the 
ROYAL  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

GEORGE  TAUBMAN  GOLDIE, 

London,  President. 

March  12,  1906. 


264  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


VEREIN   FUR  VATERLANDISCHE  NATUR- 
KUNDE  IN  WURTTEMBERG 

Stuttgart,  den  20  Februar,  1906. 
DER  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 
zu  PHILADELPHIA. 
BEEHRT  SICH  DER 

VEREIN  FUR  VATERLANDISCHE  NATURKUNDE  IN 
WURTTEMBERG 

zu  der  am  17  bis  20  April  d.  Js.  bevorstehenden  Feier 
der  200  sten  Wiederkehr  des  Geburtstags  von 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

den  Ausdruck  der  Teilnahme  der  Mitglieder  des  Ver- 
eins    an    dieser  bedeutsamen    Feier   darzubringen. 

Der  grosse  Staatsmann  und  Naturforscher  gehort  nicht 
nur  durch  die  Hohe  seiner  Gesellschaft  und  Natur 
umfassenden  Weisheit  zu  den  hervorragendsten  Vertre- 
tern  des  menschlichen  Geschlechts,  er  ist  vor  Allem  als 
sittliche  Personlichkeit  ein  leuchtendes  Vorbild  der 
Jugend,  in  dessen  Verehrung  unter  den  Nationen  der 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  265 

Erde  nicht  als  letzte  die  deutsche  sich  mit  der  grossen 
Nation,  welche  Benjamin  Franklin  hervorgebracht  hat, 
verbunden  weiss. 

Im    Namen    des    Vereins    fur   vaterlandische   Natur- 

kunde. 

Der  derzeitige  Vorstand: 

DR.  A.  SCHMIDT, 

Geh.  Hofrat. 


266  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION 
PRESIDING  OFFICER 

EX-OFFICIO 
THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

CHANCELLOR 
THE  CHIEF  JUSTICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Washington,  April  13,  1906. 
United  States  National  Museum 
International  Exchanges 
Bureau  of  Ethnology 
National  Zoological  Park 
Astrophysical  Observatory 

THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION 
"  FOR  THE  INCREASE  AND  DIFFUSION  OF  KNOWLEDGE 

AMONG  MEN  " 

TO  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 
"  FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE  " 

GREETING 

On  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 

birth  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  Founder  and  first 

President  of   the   American    Philosophical    Society   the 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  267 

Smithsonian  Institution  congratulates  the  Society  on  its 
long  and  prosperous  existence  and  on  the  achievements 
of  its  membership  in  the  fields  of  philosophy  and  natural 
science 

Philosophy  "the  mother  and  nurse  of  all  sciences," 
has  had  no  more  devoted  student  than  Benjamin  Frank 
lin.  Honored  by  learned  societies  and  universities,  by 
his  fellow  citizens,  by  potentates,  philosophers,  and  the 
populace  of  Europe,  his  name  will  ever  stand  among 
the  highest  of  eminent  Americans.  The  results  of  his 
researches  in  philosophical  subjects  and  in  electrical 
science  are  clear  and  convincing — the  work  of  a  strong, 
original,  comprehensive  intellect.  His  conciliatory 
methods  and  independence  of  character,  and  his  genial 
disposition  in  his  efforts,  with  the  aid  of  Chatham,  Pitt, 
and  Burke,  to  avert  the  political  separation  of  England 
and  America,  his  service  in  the  negotiation  of  treaties 
of  commerce  and  alliance  with  France,  and  of  the  treaty 
of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  place  him  in  the  front  rank 
of  American  diplomatists.  The  deliberations  of  the 
Continental  Congress  on  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  and  the  debates  of  the  Constitutional  Convention 
were  guided  largely  by  his  keenness  of  perception  and 
his  sound  common  sense 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  congratulates  itself  that 
one  of  its  first  Regents  Richard  Rush,  of  Philadelphia, 


268  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

whose  efforts  signally  contributed  to  the  securing  of  the 
Smithsonian  bequest,  and  its  three  Secretaries  Joseph 
Henry,  Spencer  F.  Baird,  and  S.  P.  Langley  were  mem 
bers  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  whose  rolls 
likewise  bear  the  names  of  Alexander  Dallas  Bache  and 
Louis  Agassiz  and  other  men  prominent  in  statesman 
ship  and  science,  who  are  closely  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  Institution.  "On  the  shoulders  of  young 
Henry,"  said  Sir  David  Brewster,  "has  fallen  the  mantle 
of  Franklin."  The  discovery  by  Franklin  of  the  identity 
of  lightning  and  the  electrical  fluid  enables  man  to  make 
the  lightning  harmless;  the  discovery  by  Henry  of  the 
laws  by  which  the  effective  power  of  the  electro -magnet 
could  be  made  active,  renders  possible  in  the  service  of 
man  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone,  and  the  daily 
application  of  electro-motive  power  in  ways  innumer 
able 

The  American  Philosophical  Society  honors  science 
and  learning  in  celebrating  the  anniversary  of  the  natal 
day  of  the  illustrious  Franklin,  who,  as  the  great  states 
man  Turgot  declared 

"  Eripuit  coelo  fulmen,  sceptrumque  tyrannis" 

(SEAL)  R.  RATHBUN, 

Acting  Secretary. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  269 


REAL   ACADEMIA   DE   CIENCIAS    EXACTAS, 
FISICAS  Y  NATURALES 

REAL  ACADEMIA  DE  CIENCIAS  FISICAS  Y  NATURALES. 

Valverde,  26. — Madrid,  2  de  Abril  de  1906. 
SRES.  SECRETARIOS  DE 

"  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY." 
Sres.   Secretaries:  Philadelphia. 

Muy  distinguidos  Sres.  mios:  En  la  imposibilidad  de 
acudir  personalmente  los  individuos  numerarios  de  esta 
Academia  a  la  celebracion  del  segundo  centenario  del 
nacimiento  de  Benjamin  Franklin,  aprovechando  la 
galante  intitacion  de  la  "American  Philosophical  So 
ciety"  de  Philadelphia,  la  Corporacion  ha  acordado 
dirigir  a  esa  illustre  Sociedad  el  presente  mensaje  de 
su  mas  entusiasta  adhesion  a  cuanto  signifique  honrar  la 
memoria  del  sabio  eminente,  gloria  de  su  patria  y  honra 
de  la  humanidad,  cuyo  preclaro  nombre,  popular  en  el 
mundo  entero,  ira  siempre  unido  al  de  los  mas  ilustres 
genios  de  las  Ciencias  y  de  los  mas  insignes  bien- 
hechores  de  la  humanidad. 

De  Vds.  Sres.  Secretarios,  con  la  mayor  consideracion, 

atento  s.   s 
q.   ss.   mm.   b 

F.  DE  P.  ARRILLAGA, 
Secretario  de  la  Academia. 


270  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

EXTENDS  TO  THE 

AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 
CORDIAL  GREETINGS 

upon  the  celebration  of  the  Two  HUNDREDTH  ANNI 
VERSARY  of  the  birth  of  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  and  joins 
therewith  assurance  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  the 
MIDDLE  WEST  holds  alike  the  name  of  Franklin  and  the 
spirit  and  achievement  of  the  Society  that  now  honors 
his  memory.  Emulating  that  spirit  of  broad  catholicity 
of  human  interests  so  admirably  exemplified  in  Frank 
lin's  life,  the  University  unites  with  the  Philosophical 
Society  in  holding  as  an  integral  part  of  its  province, 
the  increase  of  knowledge  and  the  widening  application 
of  that  knowledge  to  the  daily  life  of  mankind.  With 
Franklin,  it  regards  no  useful  intellectual  pursuit  as 
beneath  its  notice  and  none  too  high  to  fall  within 
its  ken. 

In  admiration  for  the  many-sidedness  of  Franklin's 
career,  the  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  joins  with  its 
sister  institutions  of  learning  throughout  the  world  in 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  271 

recognizing  him  as  the  herald  of  that  great  outburst 
of  science  and  humanity  that  is  the  glory  of  the  nine 
teenth  century,  and  it  cherishes  his  intellectual  temper 
and  spirit  as  a  model  for  the  present  age. 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN  desires  also,  through 
these  letters,  to  express  its  sense  of  gratitude  and  obliga 
tion  to  the  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  for  its 
service  to  civilization  in  worthily  commemorating  the 
services  of  a  great  man,  and  in  impressing  upon  the 
living  age,  that  its  inheritance  of  bettered  conditions  of 
life  comes  not  from  the  heedless  majority  of  ancestors, 
but  from  a  chosen  few,  rare  spirits  among  men. 

IN  TOKEN  WHEREOF,  there  is  hereunto  set  this  lyth 
day  of  April,  1906,  the  seal  of  the  University  of  Wis 
consin  and  the  hand  of  its  President. 

(SEAL)  CHARLES  R.  VAN  HISE, 

Attest:         E.  F.  RiLEY,  President. 

Secretary. 


272  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  ROYAL  METEOROLOGICAL  SOCIETY 

ROYAL  METEOROLOGICAL  SOCIETY 
PRINCES  MANSIONS, 
70,  VICTORIA  STREET, 

S.  W. 

April  3,  1906. 

To  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

OF  AMERICA. 
Sir: 

The  agreeable  duty  falls  to  me  of  tendering  to  you,  on 
behalf  of  the  Council  and  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Meteor 
ological  Society  of  London  our  cordial  thanks  for  the 
invitation  received  to  participate  in  the  proceedings  of 
your  time-honored  Society  on  the  celebration  of  the 
birth  of  its  illustrious  founder,  Benjamin  Franklin. 

Sir  George  Darwin,  whom  we  have  asked  to  be  our 
representative  on  this  historic  occasion,  will  convey  to 
you  and  the  members  of  the  Philosophical  Society  our 
hearty  appreciation  of  the  tribute  you  are  justly  paying 
to  the  memory  of  one,  to  whom  Science  is  so  greatly 
indebted,  and  to  whom  we  ourselves  owe  much  for  his 
researches  in  various  branches  of  Meteorology. 

It  would  have  been  a  source  of  much  gratification  to 
the  great  Franklin  could  he  have  survived  to  witness 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  273 

the  full  restoration  of  those  close  ties  of  friendship  which 
now  happily  unite  the  great  English  speaking  nations 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  no  less  than  to  feel  the  high 
appreciation  in  which  his  character  and  work  is  held 
in  both  countries  two  centuries  after  his  birth. 

With  very  hearty  wishes  for  the  successful  commem 
oration  of  the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth 
of  Franklin  from  all  the  Fellows  of  this  Society, 

I  remain,  Sir, 

Yours   faithfully, 

RICHARD  BENTLEY, 
President   of   the    Royal 
Meteorological    Society. 


274  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


K.K.   ZOOLOGISCH-BOTANISCHE 
GESELLSCHAFT 

Wien,  am  6  April,  1906. 
K.K.  ZOOLOGISCH-BOTANISCHE 

GESELLSCHAFT 
WIEN,  I.,  WOLLZEILE  12. 

AN 

DIE  HOCHVEREHRLICHE 
PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

IN 

PHILADELPHIA. 

Das  ergebenst  gefertigte  Praesidium  der  k.k. 
zoologisch-botanischen     Gesellschaft    in    Wien    beehrt 
sich,  anlasslich  der  Franklin-Feier  die  herzlichsten  und 
warmsten  Gluckwiinsche  zum  Ausdruck  zu  bringen. 

Leider  ist  es  der  k.k.  zoologisch-botanischen  Gesell 
schaft  unmoglich,  einen  Vertreter  zu  entsenden.  Doch 
wollen  Sie  davon  uberzeugt  sein,  dass  sie  lebhaften 
Anteil  nimmt  an  dem  erhebenden  Feste,  das  ebenso  dem 
Andenken  Ihres  beriihmten  Landsmannes  gilt,  wie  der 
Erinnerung  an  die  hervorragenden  Leistungen  Ihrer 
Gesellschaft. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  275 

Es   zeichnet   sich   mit   dem   Ausdrucke   vorziiglicher 
Hochachtung 

das  Praesidium 

der  k.k.  zoologisch-botanischen  Gesellschaft. 
PROF.  DR.  R.  v.  WETTSTEIN, 

Praesident 
DR.    F.   VlERHAPPER, 

Sekretar. 


276  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


DIE  NATURFORSCHER-GESELLSCHAFT, 
DORPAT 

DIE  NATURFORSCHER-GESELLSCHAFT  BEI  DER 
KAISERLICHEN  UNIVERSTAET  DORPAT 

ENTBIETET  DER 
AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL 

SOCIETY 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

ZUR  FEIER  DER  ZWEIHUNDERTSTEN  WIEDERKEHR 

DES  GEBURTSTAGES 

IHRES  BEGRUNDERS 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

die  warmsten  Wiinsche  des  ferneren  Gedeihens  und 
weiterer  erfolgreicher  wissenschaftlicher  Thatigkeit 
zum  Wohle  der  Menschheit. 

President,  PROF.  N.  J.  KUSNEZOW. 

Dorpat,  Marz,  1906. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  277 


DE  KONINKLIJKE  AKADEMIE  VAN  WETEN- 
SCHAPPEN  TE  AMSTERDAM 

De  Koninklijke  Akademie  van  Wetenschappen  te 
Amsterdam  acht  het  een  groot  voorrecht  in  de  gelegen- 
heid  te  zijn  om  hare  bewondering  en  eerbied  uitte- 
spreken  voor 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  . 

bij    gelegenheid    der    herdenking,    door    de    American 
Philosophical  Society  te  Philadelphia,  van  zijn 

200STEN  GEBOORTEDAG 

Voorbeeld  van  een  onderzoeker,  die  alleen  met  de 
eenvoudigste  hulpmiddelen  werkte  en  die  in  de  mede- 
deeling  zijner  ontdekkingen  niet  minder  bewonderens- 
waardig  was  dan  in  deze  zelf,  wist  FRANKLIN  aan  tal  van 
nauw  merkbare  verschijnselen  gedachten  van  waarde 
vastteknoopen.  In  het  licht  van  tengenwoordige  theo- 
rien  krijgen  zijn  vondsten  over  de  ontladende  werking 
van  vlammen,  en  van  die  van  rood  gloeiend  ijzer  opni- 
euw  beteekenis. 

Zijne  theorie  der  electriciteit  heeft  in  zijn  tijd  krachtig 
bijgedragen  tot  verheldering  der  inzichten  en  zijne 


278  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

onderzockingen  over  atmospharische  electriciteit  waren 
baanbrekend. 

Voor  alle  tijden  zal  Franklin's  naam  verbonden 
blijven  aan  de  uitvinding  van  den  bliksemafleider.  Hij 
heeft  dus  in  een  schitterend  voorbeeld  met  nadruk 
geleerd  :  NATURAE  NON  IMPERATUR,  NISI  PARENDO. 

De  Koninklijke  Akademie  van  Wetenschappen  te 
Amsterdam,  hulde  brengend  aan  de  nagedachtenis  van 
dezen  denker,  eerbied  gevoelend  voor  zijn  groot  en 
oorspronkelijk  karakter,  roept  een  warmen  heilwensch 
toe  aan  het  geboorteland  van  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  en 
aan  de  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  die  hem 

herdenkt. 

Het   Bestuur   der   Koninklijke   Akademie   van 

Wetenschappen, 

H.  G.  voS.  BAKHUIJZEN, 

Algemeen  Voorzitter. 

J.  D.  VD.  WAALS, 

Algemeen  Secretaris. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  279 


THE  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES  OF  ST.  LOUIS 

THE  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES  OF  ST.  Louis 
PRESENTS  ITS  CONGRATULATIONS  AND  BEST  WISHES 

TO 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

ON  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION 

OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  ITS  GREAT  FOUNDER 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

The  Academy  gladly  joins  in  doing  honor  to  the 
memory  of  him  who  was  above  all,  and  in  the  highest 
sense,  the  friend  of  man. 

(SEAL)  ADOLF  ALT. 

ERNEST  P.  OLSHAUSEN,  President. 

Recording  Secretary. 

H.  AUG.  HUNICKE, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 


280  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY  OF  GLASGOW 

THE  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY  OF  GLASGOW 

To 
THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  HELD  AT 

PHILADELPHIA, 
FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 

We,  the  members  of  the  Geological  Society  of  Glas 
gow,  gladly  accept  the  courteous  invitation  of  the  Amer 
ican  Philosophical  Society  for  Promoting  Useful 
Knowledge,  to  take  part  in  celebrating  the  bi-centenary 
of  the  birth  of  its  founder,  Benjamin  Franklin,  and 
offer  our  cordial  congratulations  on  the  prosperity  of  the 
Society,  and  the  generous  spirit  shown  in  the  arrange 
ments  for  this  great  commemoration. 

We  contrast  with  wonder  the  small  beginnings  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  and  the  high  and 
honourable  position  which  it  now  occupies  among  kin 
dred  institutions  throughout  the  World;  the  brief  list  of 
eager  seekers  after  knowledge  whom  Franklin  drew  to 
gether,  and  the  long  roll  of  Members,  of  all  nationali 
ties,  distinguished  in  all  branches  of  learning,  on  which 
it  is  the  ambition  of  even  the  most  eminent  to  see  his 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  281 

name  inscribed.  On  this  roll  we  recognize  the  names 
of  many  who  have  been  foremost  in  advancing  the 
science  to  which  we  are  specially  devoted. 

We  have  the  fullest  confidence  that  the  grand  consti 
tution  bequeathed  to  the  American  Philosophical  So 
ciety,  the  stimulus  of  its  noble  traditions,  and  the  loyalty 
of  its  Members  will  continue  to  augment  its  influence 
and  increase  its  power  for  Promoting  Useful  Knowledge, 
On  behalf  of  the  Geological  Society  of  Glasgow. 

BEN.  N.  PEACH, 
LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  A.R.S.M.,  President. 


282  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

THE    BUFFALO    SOCIETY    OF    NATURAL 
SCIENCES 

THE  BUFFALO  SOCIETY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES 
OF  BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 

(ORGANIZED,  1861.    INCORPORATED,  1863) 
Acknowledges  with  pleasure  the  invitation  of 

THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

HELD  AT  PHILADELPHIA  FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL 

KNOWLEDGE,  1743 

To  be  represented  at 

The  Celebration  of  the  Two  Hundredth  Anni 
versary  of  the  Birth  of  its  Founder 
To  be  held  in  Philadelphia,  April  17,  18,  19 

and  20,  1906 
The  Society  takes  this  opportunity  of  felicitating 

The  American  Philosophical  Society 
on  this  auspicious  occasion,  and  will  be 

represented  by  its  President 

Thomas  Guilford  Smith,  A.M.,  C.E.,  LL.D. 

to  convey  in  person  its  cordial  greeting  and 

congratulation 

By  order  of  the  Board  of  Managers 

ELIZABETH  J.  LITSON, 
(SEAL)  Director  of  the  Museum. 

CARLOS  E.  CUMMIXGS,  A.B.,  M.D. 
Buffalo,  April  2,  1906  Secretary. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  283 


JARDIN   BOTANIQUE  DE  L'ETAT 

JARDIN  BOTANIQUE 
DE 

L'ETAT. 

(SEAL) 

Bruxelles,  le  8  Mars,  1906. 

A  LA  CELEBRE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  OF 
PHILADELPHIA  FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 

La  Societe  royale  de  botanique  de  Belgique  a  etc  fort 
sensible  a  la  gracieuse  invitation  que  vous  avez  bien 
voulu  lui  adresser  de  se  faire  representer  aux  fetes  solen- 
nelles  que  vous  organisez  du  17  au  20  avril  prochain 
pour  glorifier  le  souvenir  du  2Ooeme  anniversaire  de  la 
naissance  de  votre  illustre  fondateur  Benjamin  Franklin. 
Elle  ne  pourra  malheureusement  pas  vous  envoyer  de 
delegue,  mais  elle  tient  a  vous  dire  qu'elle  s'associe  de 
tout  coeur  a  ce  supreme  hommage  rendu  a  un  homme 
qui  appartient  a  la  collectivite  de  1'humanite  a  cause 
des  bienfaits  dont  elle  lui  est  redevable,  mais  qui  est 
aussi  une  des  gloires  les  plus  eclatantes  et  les  p-Tus  pures 
des  Etats  Unis.  Bruxelles,  le  8  Mars,  1906. 

(SEAL)  Pour  la  Societe, 

TH.  DURAND, 
Secretaire  General. 


284  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  COLLEGE  OF  SCIENCE, 
IMPERIAL  UNIVERSITY,  TOKYO 

(TRANSLATION) 

The  College  of  Science,  Imperial  University,  Tokyo, 
feels  very  much  honored  by  receiving  your  kind  invita 
tion  to  participate  in  the  Celebration  to  be  held  in  Phila 
delphia  in  April  of  the  present  year  on  the  occasion  of 
the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  the  illustrious  Founder  of  your  Society  and 
one  of  the  world's  great  men.  We  regret  that  circum 
stances  prevent  our  sending  a  special  delegate  to  repre 
sent  us  in  the  Celebration,  but  we  desire  to  send  at  least 
a  few  words  of  congratulation  expressing  the  spirit  and 
great  work  of  Franklin  to  the  posterity. 
We  remain,  Respectfully  yours, 

K.  MITSUKURI,  PH.D., 
Director  of  the  College  of  Science, 
Imperial  University,  Tokyo. 

To  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
Philadelphia,  Penn.,  U.  S.  A. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES 


285 


IMPERATORSKOIE      OBSHCHESTVO      LUBI- 

TELEI     IESTESTVOZNANIA,    ANTRO- 

POLOGII    I   ETNOGRAFII 

(SEAL) 

The  Imperial  Society  of  Lovers  of  Natural  Science, 
Anthropology  and  Ethnology  held  at  the  Imperial  Uni 
versity  at  Moscow  has  the  honour  to  congratulate  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  held  at  Philadelphia 
for  Promoting  Useful  Knowledge  with  the  celebration 
of  the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  its 
founder,  the  famous  citizen  and  naturalist  Benjamin 
Franklin,  and  to  wish  the  oldest  of  scientific  societies 
a  happy  continuation  of  its  brilliant  existence  and  valu 
able  work. 

President,   NICHOLAS  JOUKOOSKY, 

Secretary,  WLADIMIR  ELPATIEWSKY, 
WSEWOLOD  MILLER, 
LEO  MOROCHOWETZ, 
ALEXANDER  SABANEJEFF, 
GREGORIOUS  KOSHEVNIKOV, 

Members  of  Council,  -j  WLADIMIR  TlCHOMlROW, 

COMTESSE  OUDEREFF, 

E.  LEYST, 
PETER  PETROFF, 

.  NlCHOLAD  ZOGRAF. 


286  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  PHYSICAL  SECTION  OF  THE  RUSSIAN 
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL   SOCIETY 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

1  HELD  AT  PHILADELPHIA 
FOR  PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Physical  Section  of  the  Russian  Physico-Chemical 
Society  congratulates  the  American  Philosophical  So 
ciety  on  the  occasion  of  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary 
of  the  birth  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 

That  name  reminds  every  one  of  us  of  the  luminous 
kingdom  of  Ideals  and  Understanding. 

The  Russian  children  in  one  of  their  earliest  books 
read  the  biography  of  B.  Franklin  as  a  paragon  of  vir 
tue;  the  school  boys  learn  by  the  example  of  Franklin 
how  the  brave  mind  overcomes  the  formidable  appear 
ances  of  nature  by  its  fundamental  investigations;  the 
image  of  the  famous  leader  of  the  great  American  peo 
ple  rises  before  the  citizens  of  Great  Russia  at  the  time 
of  her  new  stage  of  the  liberating  evolution. 

The  Meeting  of  April  of  the  Physical  Section  will  be 
consecrated  to  the  researches  of  Benjamin  Franklin  as 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  287 

the  founder  of  the  simplest  and  the  most  profound  elec 
trical  theory  now  reviving  as  a  fine  flower  in  the  scien 
tific  field  manured  by  the  wonderful  discoveries  of  the 

last  years. 

President  of  the  Physical  Section, 

PROFESSOR  N.  HESEHUS. 
St.  Petersburg, 

1 1  (24)  March,  1906. 


z88  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


DEUTSCHER  SEEFISCHEREI-VEREIN 

DEUTSCHER  SEEFISCHEREI-VEREIN 

UNTER  DEM 

ALLERHOECHSTEN  PROTEKTORAT  SEINER  MAJESTAT  DES 

KAISERS. 

Hannover,  dem  9.   Marz,   1096. 
Sehr  geehrte  Herren: 

Mit  verbindlichstem  Danke  bestatigen  wir  den  Emp- 
fang  der  sehr  freundlichen  Einladung  zu  der  vom  17. 
bis  20."  April  d.  Js.  stattfindenden  Franklin-Feier.  Da 
wir  bei  der  Bedeutung  dieser  Feier  dem  Wunsch  haben, 
eindrucksvoller  vertreten  zu  sein,  als  es  auf  schriftlichem 
Wege  moglich  ist,  so  haben  wir  unser  korrespondier- 
endes  Mitglied,  Herrn  Dr.  Hermann  Boeker  in  New- 
York  (227  East  57  Str.)  gebeten,  wahrend  der  Eroff- 
nungsfeier  als  unser  Vertreter  zugegen  zu  sein.  Herr 
Boeker  hat  sich  freundlichst  bereit  erklart,  diesen  Auf- 
trag  zu  ubernehmen.  Wir  haben  die  Ehre  Sie  hiervon 
mit  unseren  besten  Wunschen  fur  ein  gutes  Gelingen 
der  Feier  in  Kenntniss  zu  setzen. 

Mit  dem  Ausdruck  vollkommener  Hochachtung 
Deutscher  Seefischerei-Verein. 
gez.  Herwig. 

An   die  AMERICAN   PHILOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY, 
Philadelphia,  Independence  Square. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES 


INSTITUTION  OF  ELECTRICAL  ENGINEERS 

TO  THE 

PRESIDENT  AND  COUNCIL 

OF  THE 

AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  FOR 
PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 

WE,  the  President,  the  Council  and  Members  of  the 
INSTITUTION  OF  ELECTRICAL  ENGINEERS 

desire  to  convey  to  you  our  most  cordial  greetings  on  the 
occasion  of  the  celebrations  commemorative  of  the  aooth 
Anniversary  of  the  birth  of  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  that 
illustrious  Pioneer  in  the  field  of  Electrical  Science. 

As  fellow  workers  in  the  promotion  of  useful  knowl 
edge  and  the  advancement  of  Science  it  is  our  privilege 
to  unite  with  you,  our  kinsmen,  in  paying  a  grateful 
tribute  to  the  immortal  genius  of  the  Founder  of  your 
honourable  and  learned  Society,  by  the  institution  of 
which  he  laid  the  sure  foundation  for  continued  prog 
ress  in  the  future,  progress  to  which  his  own  fruitful 
labours  in  the  field  of  Electrical  Science  have  con 
tributed  so  largely. 

DATED  this  Twenty-ninth  day  of  March,  1906. 

(SEAL)  J.  GAVEY, 

President. 

WILLIAM  H.  PATCH  ELL, 

Member  of  Council. 

G.  C.  LLOYD, 

Secretary. 


290  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


SOCIETE  FRIBOURGEOISE  DES  SCIENCES 
NATURELLES 

(SEAL) 

Fribourg  (Suisse),  le  5  Mars,  1906. 
A  L' AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

A  PHILADELPHIE. 
Monsieur  le  President, 
Messieurs, 

Vous  nous  avez  fait  1'honneur  de  nous  inviter  a  la 
fete  que  vous  organisez  pour  celebrer,  au  mois  d'avril 
prochain,  le  deuxieme  centenaire  de  la  naissance  de 
Benjamin  Franklin!  Nous  en  sommes  tres  flattes  et 
venons  vous  en  exprimer  toute  notre  reconnaissance. 

Les  Suisses,  dont  1'horizon  est  borne  par  de  hautes 
montagnes,  ne  sont  generalement  pas  habitues  aux 
grandes  distances  et  s'en  laissent  facilement  effrayer, 
aussi  ne  nous  sera-t-il  pas  possible  de  nous  faire  repre- 
senter  a  votre  fete  et  de  repondre  a  votre  aimable  in 
vitation. 

Nous  tenons  cependant  a  nous  associer  a  rhommage 
legitime  que  la  Science  universelle  se  prepare  a  rendre 
a  la  memoire  de  Benjamin  Franklin. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  291 

L'illustre  savant  a  eu  non  seulement  le  rare  merite  de 
triompher  de  1'isolement  et  de  la  penurie  de  moyens  de 
travail  et  de  recherche,  mais  les  idees  qu'il  a  emises  sur 
la  nature  de  1'electricite  sont  trop  analogues  aux  theories 
modernes  pour  que  1'anniversaire  que  vous  allez  celebrer 
n'en  tire  pas  un  eclat  particulier. 

Enfin.  la  Suisse,  qui  a  si  peniblement  conquis  son 
independance,  ne  peut  s'empecher  d'associer  au  souvenir 
du  savant,  celui  de  1'homme  d'Etat  qui  a  fait  1'Amerique 
independante  et  libre. 

C'est  dans  ces  idees,  Monsieur  le  President  et  Mes 
sieurs,  que  nous  faisons  des  voeux  pour  le  plein  succes 
de  la  fete  de  Franklin  et  que  nous  vous  prions  d'agreer 
1'assurance  de  notre  haute  consideration. 

Par  decision  de  la  Societe  fribourgeoise  des  Sciences 
naturelles. 

Le  Secretaire,  Le  President, 

DR.  Ls.  GOBET,  Prof.  PROF.  M.  MUSY. 


292  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  OF 
WASHINGTON 

AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

HELD  AT  PHILADELPHIA 

GREETINGS  FROM  THE 

PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  OF  WASHINGTON 

AND  CONGRATULATIONS  ON  THIS  CELEBRATION 

OF  THE 

BICENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY 
OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  FOUNDER 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 
PROMOTER  OF  SCIENCE  AND  FRIEND  OF  HUMANITY 

GEORGE  K.  BURGESS,  CLEVELAND  ABBE, 

Secretary.  President. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  293 


SOCIETE  GEOLOGIQUE  DE  BELGIQUE 

Mr.  President: 

Neither  the  Societe  Geologique  de  Belgique,  which 
charges  me  to  convey  its  greetings  to  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  on  this  memorable  occasion,  nor 
the  present  Kingdom  of  Belgium,  of  which  it  is  the 
national  representative  in  the  Science  of  Geology,  ex 
isted,  at  the  date  of  the  death  of  Benjamin  Franklin; 
yet  genius  like  his  commands  the  reverence  of  all  ages, 
and  along  with  its  tribute  to  his  memory  the  Society  de 
sires  me  to  present  the  assurance  of  its  sympathy  and 
affiliation  with  the  oldest  learned  Society  of  America, 
offspring  of  the  great  printer  and  conducting  this  well 
deserved  service  of  commemoration  to  him. 

Founded  by  Gustave  Dewalque  and  Adolphe  Firket, 
both  of  whom  have  passed  away  almost  within  the  last 
year,  the  Societe  Geologique  de  Belgique  during  their 
lifetime,  and  largely  through  their  efforts,  aided  by 
those  of  their  learned  colleagues  and  countrymen,  has 
risen  not  only  to  the  rank  of  the  premier  geological  so 
ciety  of  Belgium,  but  to  eminence  among  the  greatest 
learned  Societies  of  Europe.  One  characteristic  of  its 
publications,  aside  from  their  intrinsic  scientific  value, 


294  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

would  have  endeared  them  to  the  man  who  at  the  close 
of  his  useful  life  and  after  having  reached  the  summit 
in  each  of  the  departments  in  which  his  great  abilities 
served  mankind,  described  himself  as  a  "printer."  The 
typography  of  the  publications  of  this  Society  has  ever 
been  of  the  highest  order  of  excellence,  though  it  would 
not  be  fitting  in  its  representative  to  say  so  were  it  not 
for  the  obvious  connection  with  Franklin's  favorite  art. 
For  the  great  scientific  men  in  the  American  Philo 
sophical  Society  the  Societe  geologique  de  Belgique  has 
always  had  the  highest  appreciation;  publishing  from 
time  to  time  abstracts  of  their  discoveries  during  their 
life  time,  and  eulogistic  notices  on  their  death.  It  enters 
heartily  into  the  spirit  of  these  services  and  through  me 
sends  its  homages  to  the  memory  of  the  great  man  who 
is  the  object  of  them  and  to  the  Society  which  he 

founded. 

PERSIFOR  FRAZER, 

Membre  honoraire  and  Delegate  of  the 
Societe  geologique  de  Belgique. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  295 


SOCIEDAD    CIENTIFICA   "  ANTONIO 
ALZATE" 

Mr.  President: 

The  Sociedad  Cientifica  "Antonio  Alzate  "  derives  its 
name  from  the  distinguished  Mexican  Naturalist  who 
was  born  seventeen  years  after  the  object  of  our  present 
commemorative  services,  and  died  in  the  same  year. 
While  Franklin  was  discovering  atmospheric  electricity 
and  assisting  in  the  founding  of  a  great  nation,  Antonio 
Alzate,  a  corresponding  member  of  the  French  and 
Spanish  Academies  of  Science,  was  publishing  the 
Gaceta  de  Literatura,  and  determining  the  limit  of 
perpetual  snow  on  the  Volcano  of  Popocatepetl,  besides 
making  important  contributions  to  Botany  and  Zoology. 
The  Society  which  has  adopted  his  name  for  its  own 
is  the  most  important  Natural  History  Society  on  the 
Continent  south  of  the  United  States,  and  adds  to  the 
Pan-American  feeling  which  hails  Franklin  as  a  great 
Western  Continent  patriot,  also  enthusiasm  for  the  great 
observer  and  master  of  research.  Along  with  my  two 
colleagues,  members  of  this  Society,  I  am  desired  to  ex 
press  the  satisfaction  of  the  Society  Antonio  Alzate  at 
having  been  honored  by  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  with  an  invitation  to  participate  in  these  cere- 


296  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

monies;  and  to  express  to  its  older  sister  Society  the  feel 
ings  of  warm  cordiality  and  friendship  with  which  that 
invitation  was  received.  The  "Antonio  Alzate"  has  in 
vited  and  published  in  its  Memorias  y  Revista  communi 
cations  from  Scientific  men  of  all  nations,  and  especially 
from  the  United  States.  These  valuable  contributions 
to  science  have  been  printed,  each  in  the  language  of 
its  author,  and  the  closest  sympathy  and  fellowship  have 
been  exhibited  by  it  through  its  eminent  permanent  Sec 
retary  Senor  Rafael  Aguilar  for  the  many  eminent 
scientific  members  of  the  American  Philosophical  So 
ciety.  It  requests  us,  its  delegates,  to  express  to  the 
latter  its  warm  cooperation  in  the  spirit  of  this  bi-cen- 

tenary. 

PERSIFOR  FRAZER, 

Honorary  member  and  one  of  the  delegates 
of  the  Sociedad  Antonio  Alzate. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  297 


THE  WORDS  OF  CELEBRATION. 
(SHU  KUJI) 
THE  TOKYO  BOTANICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  Tokyo  Botanical  Society  cordially  congratulates 
the  American  Philosophical  Society  on  the  celebration 
of  the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  their 

founder, 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

April  Seventeenth, 

thirty-ninth  year  of  Meiji. 

PROF.  JINZO  MATSUMURA, 
President  of  the 

Tokyo  Botanical  Society. 


298  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  TOKYO  ZOOLOGICAL  SOCIETY 

(TRANSLATION) 

The  Tokyo  Zoological  Society  offer  congratulations 
to  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia 
on  the  occasion  of  the  Celebration  of  the  Two-Hun 
dredth  Anniversary  of  the  birth  of  its  illustrious 
Founder,  Benjamin  Franklin. 

K.  MlTSUKURl,  PH.D., 
President  of  Tokyo  Zoological  Society. 
College  of  Science, 

Imperial  University, 
Tokyo,  Japan. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  299 


ASSOCIATION  DES  INGENIEURS  ELECTRIC- 
IENS   SORTIS-DE  L'INSTITUT  ELECTRO- 
TECHNIQUE  MONTEFIORE 

UNION  PROFESSIONELLE  RECONNUE 
SIEGE  SOCIAL:  RUE  SAINT  GILLES,  31,  LIEGE. 
Messieurs, 

L'Association  des  Ingenieurs  electriciens  sortis  de 
1'Institut  electrotechnique  Montefiore,  tres-sensible  a 
1'honneur  que  vous  lui  faites  en  1'invitant  a  participer 
aux  ceremonies  commemoratives  de  Benjamin  Franklin, 
avait  decide  de  se  faire  representer  a  cette  solennite  par 
un  de  ses  membres. 

Un  empechement  de  son  delegue,  dont  elle  vient  seule- 
ment  d'etre  prevenue,  1'  oblige  a  borner  sa  participa 
tion  a  1'envoi  de  cette  adresse,  qui  vous  dira  combien 
nous  sommes  tous  de  coeur  avec  vous  dans  la  celebration 
de  1'homme  qui  illustra  votre  patrie  a  1'aurore  de  son 
independance. 

Si  Franklin  fut,  comme  citoyen,  une  des  gloires  de 
1'Amerique,  il  appartient,  comme  savant,  a  la  science 
universelle,  et,  comme  philosophe,  au  monde  entier. 

C'est  pourquoi,  en  nous  unissant  a  vous  dans  ces  heures 
de  manifestation  nationale,  nous  payons  aussi  une  dette 


300  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

de    reconnaissance    envers    celui    qui    fut,    1'honneur   de 
1'humanite. 

Veuillez  bien  agreer,  Messieurs,  1'expression  de  nos 
sentiments  de  parfaite  consideration. 

Au  nom  du  Comite  scientifique, 

Le  Secretaire  perpetuel,  Le  President, 

G.  L'HOEST.  Louis  BRUNHES. 

Liege,  le  Mars,  1906. 
THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 
Philadelphie,  (U.  S.  A.) 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  301 


THE    GEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY   OF   AMERICA 

Mr.  President: 

The  Geological  Society  of  America  contained  in  1904 
259  Fellows  representing  the  active  established  Geologists 
of  the  United  States.  At  present  in  its  nineteenth  year 
it  may  well  be  regarded  as  the  mouth-piece  of  geological 
Science  in  this  Country.  I  am  requested  by  its  President, 
Prof.  Russell,  to  express  to  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  the  active  and  sympathetic  interest  taken  by  the 
Geological  Society  of  America,  both  in  the  ceremonies 
which  have  for  their  object  the  perpetuation  of  the  mem 
ory  of  one  who  was  perhaps  the  greatest  man  this  Con 
tinent  has  produced,  and  also  in  the  venerable  sister 
Society  which  encloses  within  her  realm  not  only  all 
Sciences,  but  all  arts  and  all  humanities. 

The  Geological  Society  of  America,  like  that  of  Bel 
gium  and  Mexico,  exhibits  its  cordial  feeling  in  no  per 
functory  way  towards  this  creation  of  Franklin's  far 
sighted  sagacity;  for  Rogers  and  Lesley,  and  Leidy,  and 
Cope,  all  members  of  the  American  Philosophical  So 
ciety,  have  made  it  necessary  for  the  geologists  of  the 
world  to  scan  the  pages  of  its  Proceedings  and  Trans 
actions  in  order  to  keep  abreast  of  the  Science.  The 
Geological  Society  of  America,  though  yet  in  its  teens, 


302  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 

is  vigorous  and  mature,  and  merely  reverses  the  happy 
greeting  of  Brugsch  Bey  in  forwarding  the  Egyptological 
exhibit  to  the  United  States  Centennial  Exhibition  held 
in  this  city  in  1876,  by  expressing  its  deep  and  patriotic 
interest  in  the  honors  paid  to  the  memory  of  our  great 
American,  and  adding  the  sincerest  and  most  affection 
ate  greetings  from  the  youngest  to  the  oldest  Society  in 

America. 

PERSIFOR  FRAZER, 

Original    Fellow    and    Delegate    of   the 
Geological    Society   of   America. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  303 


THE  MISSOURI  BOTANICAL  GARDEN 

THE  MISSOURI  BOTANICAL  GARDEN 

RECOGNIZING  THE  GREAT  VALUE  TO  AMERICAN  SCIENCE 

OF  THE  STUDIES  AND  PRECEPTS  OF 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

FOUNDER  OF 
THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

the  oldest  of  American  scientific  societies,  tenders  its 
compliments  and  felicitations  on  the  occasion  of  the  Two 
Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  Birth  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  and  delegates  The  Director  of  the  Garden  as 
its  representative  at  the  ceremonies  of  April  17,  18,  19, 
and  20,  1906. 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  April  i/th,  1906. 

WILLIAM  TRELEASE, 

Director. 

R.  J.  LACKLAND, 

President  of  Board  of  Trustees. 

A.  D.  CUNNINGHAM, 
Secretary  of  Board  of  Trustees. 


304  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  COLONIAL  SOCIETY  OF 
MASSACHUSETTS 

THE  COLONIAL  SOCIETY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 

TO 
THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

GREETING  : 

In  addressing  your  ancient  and  distinguished  Society 
on  an  occasion  at  once  so  memorable  and  so  auspicious 
as  the  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  your  Founder's 
Birth,  it  would  ill  become  us  to  use  many  words,  being, 
as  we  are,  among  the  youngest  of  the  many  bodies  - 
academic,  literary,  scientific,  and  historical  —  that  press 
forward  to  felicitate  you  and  to  do  honor  to  BENJAMIN 
FRANKLIN.  Nor  is  it  needful  that  we  should  recite  facts 
which  are  enrolled  in  the  annals  of  our  Country,  and 
which  are  familiar  to  all  citizens  of  the  Republic  of 
Letters. 

Yet  we  have  deemed  it  fitting  to  put  on  record  our 
sense  of  the  profound  significance  of  this  day,  and  \ve 
have,  accordingly,  delegated  our  Associate,  HENRY  HER 
BERT  EDES,  to  offer  to  your  Society  an  expression  of  our 
sentiments  of  respect  and  congratulation. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  305 

May  your  Society,  which  preserves  in  its  name  and 
exemplifies  in  its  practice  the  old  and  all-inclusive 
meaning  of  the  term  Philosophy,  long  continue  to  main 
tain  and  propagate  the  traditions  that  you  derive  from 
a  Founder  who  took  all  useful  knowledge  for  his  prov 
ince,  who  was  a  Citizen  of  the  World,  and  whose  chief 
concern  was  the  amelioration  of  mankind. 

"  Courage,    wisdom,    integrity,    and    honor,"    wrote 

Benjamin   Franklin,   "are   not   to  be   measured   by   the 

sphere  assigned  them  to  act  in,  but  by  the  trials  they 

undergo,    and    the    vouchers    they    furnish;    and,    if    so 

manifested,  need  neither  robes  nor  titles  to  set  them  off." 

THE  COLONIAL  SOCIETY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

GEORGE  LYMAN  KITTRIDGE, 

President. 
JOHN  NOBLE, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 

Boston,   the  seventeenth   day  of 
April,  nineteen  hundred  and  six. 

(SEAL) 


306  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  CARNEGIE  MUSEUM 

THE  CARNEGIE  MUSEUM 
DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CARNEGIE  INSTITUTE 

PITTSBURGH,  PA. 

THE  CARNEGIE  MUSEUM  THROUGH  ITS  DIRECTOR  CON 
GRATULATES  THE 

AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  UPON  ITS  DECISION 

TO  CELEBRATE  THE  TWO  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 

OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  FOUNDER 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

Over  the  entrance  of  the  Pavilion  of  Science  in  the 
Institute  which  has  been  founded  in  the  city  of  Pitts 
burgh  by  one  of  her  honored  citizens,  we  have  placed 
with  other  glorious  names  the  name  of  Franklin,  the 
wisest  man  of  his  day  and  generation,  a  high  priest  of 
science,  the  most  famous  of  all  PENNSYLVANIANS,  one 
of  the  greatest  AMERICANS.  We  feel  that  the  largest 
structure,  which  has  as  yet  been  erected  in  America  for 
the  advancement  of  literature,  science,  and  art,  is  hon 
ored  by  being  permitted  to  bear  over  its  main  portal 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  307 

his  name.  We  honor  Franklin,  and  with  peculiar  satis 
faction  join  with  you  in  publicly  expressing  our  appre 
ciation  of  his  worth. 

On  behalf  of  the  Carnegie  Museum, 

W.  J.  HOLLAND, 

Director. 
April  17,  1906. 


3o8  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  WASHINGTON  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

THE  WASHINGTON  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

TO  THE 
"THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY" 

HELD  AT 

PHILADELPHIA, 

SENDS  GREETING  AND  CONGRATULATIONS  ON  THIS 
Two  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 

OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  ITS  FOUNDER  THE  DISTINGUISHED 

STATESMAN  AND  PHILOSOPHER 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

BY  ORDER  OF  THE  ACADEMY. 
(SEAL)  CHARLES  D.  WALCOTT, 

President. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  309 


THE  CARNEGIE  INSTITUTION  OF 
WASHINGTON 

THE  TRUSTEES 

OF  THE 
CARNEGIE  INSTITUTION  OF  WASHINGTON 

EXTEND  GREETINGS  TO 
THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 

HELD  AT  PHILADELPHIA  FOR 

PROMOTING  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE 

ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE 

CELEBRATION  OF  THE 
Two  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 

OF  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE 

FOUNDER 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

STATESMAN,  HUMANIST,  SEER,  SCIENTIST, 

THE  WISEST  AND  THE  SANEST  OF  AMERICANS. 

ROBERT  S.  WOODWARD, 

President. 


310  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


CABLEGRAMS 


REALE  ACADEMIA  DEI  LINCEI 

Rome,  April  16,  1906. 
To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Independence  Square,  Philadelphia. 
Reale  Academia  Lincei  prende  vivissima  parte  solenni 
onoranze  a  Benjamino  Franklin  grande  sperimentatore, 

pensatore  e  statista. 

Presidente,  BLASERNA. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  311 


L'ACADEMIE  DES  SCIENCES  DE  PARIS 

Paris,  April  17,  1906. 
To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Philadelphia. 

Academic  en  seance  exprime  sa  sympathie  et  ses  voeux 
pour  la  science  americaine. 

POINCARE, 
BERTH  ELOT, 
DARBOUX. 


312  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


L'ACADEMIE  IMPERIALE  DES  SCIENCES  DE 
ST.  *PETERSBOURG 

St.  Petersburg,  April  14,  1906. 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Philadelphia. 

Academic  Imperiale  des  Sciences  de  St.  Petersbourg 
presente  chaleureuses  felicitations  pour  la  deuxieme  cen- 
tenaire  de  la  naissance  de  1'illustre  savant.  Gloire  a 

Benjamin  Franklin. 

President,  CONSTANTIN, 

Grand  Due  de  Russie. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  313 


DET  KONGELIGE  DANSKE  VIDENS- 
KABERNES  SELSKAB 

Copenhagen,  April  17,  1906. 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Philadelphia. 

Hearty  congratulations  to  the  Memorial  Celebration 
of  your  world  renowned  countryman,  Benjamin  Frank 
lin,  about  whom  a  contemporary  wrote,  "  Eripuit  coelo 
fulmen  sceptrumque  tyrannis." 

For  The  Royal  Danish  Society, 

JULIUS  THOMSEN, 

President. 


314  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


KONGLIGA  VETENSKAPS  OCH  VITTERHETS 
SAMHALLET 

Gothenburg,  April  18,  1906. 
To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Philadelphia. 

Scientific-Literary  Society  of  Gothenburg  sends  heart 
felt  congratulations  in  commemoration  of  your  glorious 

founder, 

KOESTER, 

VISING. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  315 


KAISERLICHE   AKADEMIE   DER 
WISSENSCHAFTEN 

Wien,  April  17,  1906. 
To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Independence    Square,    Philadelphia. 

Kaiserliche  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften  nimmt  in 
Bevvunderung  euer  Franklin  teil  an  Ihren  Huldigungen. 

SUESS, 
LANG. 


316  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


BERLINER   GESELLSCHAFT   FUR   ANTHRO- 

POLOGIE,    ETHNOLOGIE    UND 

URGESCHICHTE 

Berlin,  April  17,  1906. 
To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Philadelphia. 

May   our  venerable   sister   successfully   work   on   in 
youth  and  glory. 

BERLIN  ANTHROPOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  317 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    ELECTRICAL 
ENGINEERS 

London,  April  18,  1906. 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Philadelphia. 

President  and  Council  Institution  Electrical  Engineers 
send  cordial  greetings  on  Franklin  Bi-Centenary  cele 
brations. 


318  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


SALLSKAPET    FOR    FINLANDS    GEOGRAFI 

Helsingfors,  April   17,   1906. 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Philadelphia. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  Celebration  of  the  great  mem 
ory  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  the  noble  champion  of  science 
and  humanity,  The  Finnish  Geographical  Society  desire 
to  pay  their  humble  homage  and  offer  their  congratu 
lations  to  the  Philosophical  Society. 

SUNDELL, 

Vorsitzender. 
PALM  EN, 

Sekretar. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  319 

TELEGRAMS 


New  York,  April  17,  1906. 
To  ANDREW  CARNEGIE, 

Care  of  The  American  Philosophical  Society. 
Magnetic  Club  banquet  on  Franklin  Anniversary  has 
sent  a  message  in  your  care  as  a  brother  telegrapher, 
requesting  you   to   present   and   read   it   at   the   proper 
moment.     Gathering  large  and  representative. 

T.  C.  MARTIN. 

New  York,  April  17,  1906. 
To  ANDREW  CARNEGIE, 

Care  of  The  American  Philosophical  Society. 
The  Magnetic  Club,  in  banquet  assembled  to-night  in 
New  York,  its  members  and  guests  representative  of  the 
telegraphic  and  other  electrical  industries  of  America, 
requests  you  to  associate  it  with  the  great  celebration 
in  honor  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  the  first  American  elec 
trician,  congratulating  the  Society,  the  University  and 
the  City  of  Brotherly  Love  on  the  great  and  glorious 
memory  thus  cherished.  A.  B.  CHANDLER, 

President. 
(Dear  Mr.  Secretary 

Pray  include  with  others,  and  oblige 

Yours, 

ANDREW  CARNEGIE, 
Past  Telegrapher.) 


320  THE  FRANKLIN  BI-CENTENNIAL 


THE  OHIO  SOCIETY  OF  THE  SONS  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  April  19,  1906. 
To  THE   CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 
MEMORIAL    CELEBRATION    COMMITTEE, 

Philadelphia,    Pa. 

The  Ohio  Society  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution 
in  annual  session  sends  greetings. 

E.  D.  GARDINER,  W.  A.  TAYLOR, 

President.  Secretary. 


ADDRESSES  FROM  SISTER  SOCIETIES  321 


THE  PENNSYLVANIA  SOCIETY,  NEW  YORK 

New  York,  April  17,  1906. 

To  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY, 

Independence    Square,    Philadelphia. 
The  Pennsylvania  Society  in  annual  meeting  in  New 
York  on  this  date  congratulates  the  American  Philosoph 
ical  Society  on  the  opening  of  its  Franklin  Bi-Centenary 

celebration. 

BARR  FERREE, 

Secretary. 


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